Is it fate, fortune or fosterage that makes a man? That is the basic theme of Warwick Academy's next dramatic production, "Blood Brothers" by Willy Russell.

The plot of the musical, which won the Olivier Award for the best new musical in 1983, revolves around the lives of fraternal twins who are separated at birth and whose upbringing takes them to opposite ends of the social spectrum.

It is set in Liverpool, during the infamous coal miner strikes.

The play opens with Mrs. Johnson, a housekeeper barely making a living and abandoned by her husband, working for a wealthy, childless couple, Mr. and Mrs. Lyons.

Mrs. Johnson is pregnant with twins, and, unable to see how she will cope financially, reluctantly agrees to allow Mrs. Lyons to adopt one of the children, Eddie.

The child she keeps, Mickey, has a very different childhood from Eddie's privileged upbringing.

Despite the physical separation of the two families, and other overwhelming circumstances, the paths of the young men cross periodically, and they form a close relationship.

They also become involved in a love triangle that has tragic consequences.

It is one of the longest running musicals in London's West End and has had a massive success all over the world from Broadway to Australia.

Rowan Vickers, who plays the Narrator, noted that the play transcended time and location.

Because of the nature of the story, the audience will relate closely to the characters, their emotions and the situations they find themselves in.

Mrs. Johnson, played by Izabella Arnold, is a sympathetic character; with nine children and a host of problems, she appeals to the audience's better nature the young actress pointed out.

The lives of the two youngest children, the twins Mickey and Edward, played by Chris Dyer and Chris West respectively, are the central motif of the play. Chris Dyer described his character as "the comic relief, particularly at the beginning of the play.

The audience grows to love the character, and develop a lot of sympathy for him as he goes on a downward spiral."

The music, Chris West explained, has a broad appeal with some happy, upbeat songs contrasting with the darker songs sung by the Narrator, a foreboding character that offers reminders throughout the play that disaster is inevitable.

Rowan summed up "Blood Brothers" as "a powerful story. The actors and audience develop an intimate relationship [during the course of the play] and the audience leaves devastated.

The audience will come to love all the characters and leave heart-broken."

When asked if it wasn't rather depressing for the period leading up to Christmas, Rowan countered: "It's deeply affecting, but there are some amusing elements."

Tickets, $20, go on sale at the school office on Saturday November 7 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and then during the week during school office hours or by calling at 239-9450.

The play runs from November 25 to 28, in the school's Phoebe Purvis Memorial Hall; curtain 7 p.m.