No matter how many times I watch Blood Brothers, that ending will always leave a lump in my throat and a tear on my cheek.
You know what is coming, you are prepared from the beginning that this will end in tragedy but still the distressing story of the Johnstone twins will leave you heartbroken.
How the lives of brothers Mickey and Edward, separated at birth, can go in such devastatingly different directions, only to end together in such tragedy is why crowds still flock to see this award-winning musical.
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It is back at Belfast's Grand Opera House this week and is definitely not to be missed. I last went to see it back in 2018 and four years on, the show still packs a punch.
It tells the story of Mrs Johnstone, played by the superb former X Factor finalist Niki Evans, and how poverty forces her to make a decision no parent should ever have to face.
She agrees to give away one of her twins when they are born as she can not afford to feed them both along with the rest of her children after her husband walked out.
Working as a cleaner for the Lyons family, who cannot have children, Mrs Johnstone is convinced this is her only option and she reluctantly hands over one of her sons to Mrs Lyons, who keeps the pact a secret from her own husband who has been away nine months with work.
But things do not work out the way the two women intended and Mrs Lyons tells her husband they must get rid of Mrs Johnstone as she struggles to watch her dote over the child she now sees as her own, Edward.
When the boys are seven their paths cross while out playing in the streets and they are immediately drawn to one another and unknowingly define themselves as 'Blood Brothers'.
The pair are torn apart again when Mrs Lyons discovers Edward has found Mickey and she moves the family to the country in order to try and completely escape her son's true origins.
But life keeps bringing the pair back together and their joyful youth soon turns to despair with ultimately tragic consequences.
Mickey is played by the wonderful Sean Jones, who has been playing the character on and off for the last two decades. He is stepping down from the role after this tour which is an excellent reason to catch the show while it's in Belfast.
Sean manages to bring you seamlessly from excitable Mickey in his youth, full of energy playing in the streets with his pals, to awkward teenager too nervous to ask Linda out, and finally to depressed, pill-popping Mickey struggling with life after a stint in jail.
Watching him in the final scenes is truly heart-breaking as you watch a young man with such promise and good intentions completely worn down by life unravelling.
In sharp contrast, his twin brother Edward, played by Jay Worley, has had everything he could ever want in life. A good home, good education and in the end we see he has become a local councillor helping others in need.
There are some very strong performances, in particular Niki Evans as Mrs Johnstone and Sean as Mickey. In the final scenes as the cast took their bows and the audience jumped to their feet, you could see just how much the performances had taken out of the cast.
Evans was visibly upset as she faced the audience, showing just how much she put into her performance in those final scenes.
This musical is one that has stood the test of time for good reason. It will break your heart to watch but this is a powerful show not to be missed.
Willy Russell's Blood Brothers will run at Belfast's Grand Opera House until Saturday, August 13.
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