Sunset Boulevard

Adlington Music & Arts

SUNSET Boulevard is based in the glitz and glam of Hollywood in the late 1940s to early 1950s. It follows struggling writer Joe Gillis, who after being hounded by debt collectors comes across an old mansion, owned by middle aged, out of work actress, Norma Desmond. She hands him a script she wrote and to also star in, asking him for his opinion leading to a lengthy re-writing process. This leads to Gillis moving into Desmond’s property. Will Norma succeed in getting back into the limelight and will she land the leading role?

Charli Bradbury plays Betty Schaefer, an aspiring successful writer. Charli brings energy and a lovely voice to the stage despite it being a role with a limited story which never delves too deep into backstory. A great performance.

John Matthias plays Max, butler of Norma Desmond. His voice is excellent and the range and depth in emotion he portrays throughout was just perfect.

Adam Richardson plays Joe Ellis and was first class. Not an easy character to play as Joe's narration makes for a demanding role but Adam handles it with ease. Lovely vocals and a great all-round performance.

Leading lady Diane Simmons played Norma Desmond with real gusto, her character portrayal of the unemployed actress was simply excellent. With great depth and colour, this portrayal was nothing less than we expect from Diane and having the audience on their feet and the end was testament as to how much they embraced her performance.

Anthony Williams’ ensemble cast is stellar. The nature of the show places spotlight on the four leads, leaving the rest with moments to sparkle in their many characterisations. Dave Dossett leads a fabulous band which brings the beautiful score to life.

It looked like no expense has been spared on the set and Stephen Pilkington and his team have yet again raised the bar, perfectly grand and beautifully crafted which is what we’ve become to expect from Stephen. Together with excellent props, sumptuous costumes and Rob Armstrong’s excellent lighting, this all helped perfectly to create real Hollywood glitz.

Runs until Saturday

Jason Crompton