Sunset Boulevard at Abbey Theatre
- Margaret Mather
- 11 minutes ago
- 2 min read
Sunset Boulevard. Performed by the Masqueraders Theatrical Society at the Abbey Theatre, Nuneaton, from 19 – 22 November. Music by Andrew Lloyd Webber. Book and lyrics by Don Black and Christopher Hampton. Based on the Billy Wilder Film.
Review by Margaret Mather
If it’s drama, tragedy and wonderful music you want, this show has it in abundance.
This musical portrays an era where silent black and white films finish, and bigger, brasher and louder films take over, leaving many of the iconic stars of the silent movies out of work. The actors of the silent movies enhanced their performances with poise, deportment, and exaggerated hand movements, sadly this was no longer required, and they fell out of favour.
One such star was Norma Desmond, expertly portrayed by Karen Deaves. Beautiful singing and overstated gesticulations, along with fabulous art deco costumes, turned Karen into Norma. She was a delight to watch and listen to.
Joe Gillis, skilfully played by Alex Lewis, an out-of-work script writer, ended up outside Norma’s house when his car broke down as he fled from two men, played by Alex Mistry and Joshua Powis, who were trying to repossess his car. He knocked on the door and asked if he could use the phone. The butler, played superbly by Richard Yates, let him in, and he ended up staying there for months until his untimely demise at the hands of Norma Desmond.
The sets were believable and entailed a lot of hard work from the cast moving them around. The occasional exerts from the black and white silent movies was a genius touch and very enjoyable. Special mention to Betty Schaefer (Georgie Norwood) a love interest of Joe Gillis, Sheldrake/Manfred, enthusiastically played by Ashley Blackstock, Cecil B.DeMille (Andrew Sutton), and Artie Green (Jack Deaves).
All of the cast were exceptional, and this was a well executed performance by all involved.
As Norma would say, ‘It’s all about the boy.’
