WHEN I was asked if I would like to review Blood Brothers at the Grand Opera House, I hesitated. I still cherish memories of a visit to the Theatre Royal in the 1980s to see a stunning touring production starring Con O’Neill, whose performance later won him a Laurence Olivier Award. It was one of the best musicals I have ever seen, with its mixture of humour, tragedy and great music.

More than 30 years on, would a second viewing prove something of an anti-climax? Not a chance. This heartrending story by Liverpool playwright Willy Russell of twins who are separated at birth and grow up on opposite sides of the tracks,hurtling inexorably towards a tragic climax, is still as deeply moving as ever, as well as troubling in its examination of poverty and class in 1960s Liverpool. But it’s also very funny at times.

Not for nothing did this play attract a packed audience on a chilly Monday night at the Grand Opera House and meet with a standing ovation at the end.

At the heart of the drama is the twins’ mother, Mrs Johnstone, played for the final time by Lyn Paul, of the 1970s’ New Seekers, who’s still got a great voice and conveys so powerfully the permanent anguish of having given up her child. Equally compelling is Alexander Patmore as one of the twins, Mickey, who has a great on-stage chemistry with his blood brother Eddie, played by Joel Benedict, while Robbie Scotcher as the narrator is an ever sinister presence, foretelling the twins' pathway to doom.

*Blood Brothers continues at the Grand Opera House until Saturday