INTERNATIONAL smash hit musical Blood Brothers arrives in Carlisle later this month for a six-night run.

Bill Kenwright’s production of the iconic musical hits the stage at the Sands Centre from Monday March 26 to Saturday 31, as it tours across the UK.

Blood Brothers, written by award-winning playwright Willy Russell, has triumphed across the globe, scooping up no fewer than four awards for best musical in London and seven Tony Award nominations on Broadway.

Critically acclaimed actress and singer Lyn Paul returns to the seminal role of Mrs Johnstone, following her first performance back in 1997. She has played the role on numerous UK tours and also starred as Mrs Johnstone in the final West End performances at the Phoenix Theatre in 2012.

Lyn first rose to fame in the early 1970s as a member of the New Seekers. She was the featured vocalist on their 1972 Eurovision Song Contest entry, Beg, Steal or Borrow, in which they came second and lead vocalist on the 1974 number-one hit You Won’t Find Another Fool Like Me.

She has also starred in the UK tour of Cabaret in 2013 as Fraulein Schneider, in Boy George’s musical Taboo and in Footloose: the Musical.

Speaking ahead of the tour, she said: "Mrs J is just me. Everything that she’s going through I feel, the way Willy’s written it is so easy to get over to an audience as it’s actually written as you would speak.

"Sometimes, when people write a script, you look at it and think, “well, that’s not how I would say it”. But this is so perfectly written and so easy, it just flows, and I just feel that Mrs J is me, so it makes it very easy to play.

"When I first started it was directed by Bill and also Bob Tomson, so all those notes I have I’ve still got written down and a lot of that will come back to me because I think the way they directed it is just second to none. I’m desperately looking forward to going back and bringing that with me."

This epic tale of Liverpool life started as a play, performed at a Liverpool comprehensive school in 1981 before opening at the Liverpool Playhouse 35 years ago in 1983, completing sell out seasons in the US, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Japan.

Blood Brothers also ran in London’s West End for 24 years, exceeding 10,000 performances, one of only three musicals ever to achieve that milestone.

The musical tells the captivating and moving story of twin boys separated at birth, only to be reunited by a twist of fate and a mother’s haunting secret.

The memorable score includes A Bright New Day, Marilyn Monroe and the emotionally charged hit Tell Me It’s Not True.

When Mrs Johnstone, a young mother, is deserted by her husband and left to her own devices to provide for seven hungry children she takes a job as a housekeeper in order to make ends meet. It is not long before her brittle world crashes around her when she discovers herself to be pregnant yet again – this time with twins.

In a moment of weakness and desperation, she enters a secret pact with her employer which leads inexorably to the show’s shattering climax.

Blood Brothers runs at the Sands Centre from Monday 26 to Saturday 31 at 7.30pm each evening, and with matinee performances at 2.30pm on Wednesday 28 and 2.30pm on Friday 30. Tickets are available from the venue's box office.