Andrew Lloyd-Webber

Review: Sunset Boulevard (The Palace Theatre, Manchester)

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Sunset Boulevard at Manchester's Palace Theatre
Sunset Boulevard at Manchester’s Palace Theatre
Guest Reviewer: Ciaran Ward
Upstaged Rating: 

Ria Jones and Danny Mac star in the Curve touring production of Sunset Boulevard, respectively portraying the faded silent film star, Norma Desmond, and the struggling Hollywood screenwriter, Joe Gillis. The musical, based on the 1950 Billy Wilder film, with music composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber, depicts the close-knit working relationship that both characters form, and the dire consequences that manifest from their alliance with each other.

Norma’s glamorous past is soon contaminated by the bleak stage lighting (designed by Ben Cracknell) and the melancholy score of ‘Once Upon a Time’ (directed by Adrian Kirk) – defining the state of depression that dominates the emotional depth of the character. A direct antithesis is provided through the bright spotlights and melodic harmonies inherent in the ‘This Time Next Year’ number, where almost all members of the ensemble cast look forward to the freedom that the future offers for their success.

The tragic underscores of Jones’ character generate a sense of heartfelt pathos among the audience. Her attachment to the past is compounded, in the narrative, through the vintage movie cameras that serve as a ubiquitous presence on stage; every time they come into focus, the audience is reminded that Norma is trapped within her former sense of stardom. Soon it becomes clear that this middle-aged woman is doomed to live in the shadow of the girl she once was, forever.

Joe’s response to this, in various moments of the play, is both cathartic and endearing. The Tango (choreographed by Lee Proud) that accompanies the ‘New Year Tango’ number, reflects the growing intimacy between the two characters and the ways in which Joe serves as a solace to the perturbed mind of Norma. Her suicidal tendencies become less pronounced as their attachment grows, with this substantiating a sense of ease and tranquillity in the conflict of the plot – one that makes the tragic climax so unanticipated.

Elements of foreboding, however, become predominant in the second act, with the detachment of Norma’s grand staircase into three distinct parts, paralleling her fractured relationship with Joe, and foreshadowing the three shots that resonate deeply in the penultimate scene. These elements provide the foundation for the iconic ‘I’m ready for my close-up’ moment in the dénouement, which Jones reinterprets to perfection, with this characterising the metamorphosis of the play, in the genre, from a musical to a tragedy.

-Ciaran Ward

Sunset Boulevard runs at Manchester’s Palace Theatre until Saturday 4th November 2017.

Review: Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat (The Palace Theatre, Manchester)

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Guest Reviewer: Karen Clough
Upstaged Rating: 

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat, one of the first productions borne of the Andrew Lloyd-Webber and Tim Rice partnership in the 1970s, is making as colourful an appearance as you might expect at Manchester’s Palace Theatre.

The story is adapted from the Bible’s book of Genesis, in which Joseph is one of 12 sons of Jacob. Joseph, a dreamer, attracts jealousy and contempt from his brothers, who fear that their father favours him and that the gift of his coat of many colours symbolises this. When Joseph dreams he is destined to rule them, they cannot risk that it may be prophetic, so fake his death and sell him as a slave, in the hope he’ll never be seen again.

Following in the footsteps of likeable household-name ‘Josephs’ spanning four decades, Joe McElderry (of X-Factor) has stepped into Joseph’s Dreamcoat and seemed to be thoroughly enjoying it.

After a leisurely start, the large and enthusiastic cast and choir (Stagecoach Chester and Wirral choir) were revealed on a stage filled with glitz, colour and bold lighting (Sean Cavanagh, Nick Richings). The impressively co-ordinated choir brushed off a curtain malfunction with true ‘show must go on’ professionalism.

The entire script is sung, the story joined up by a vibrant and cheery-voiced narrator, Trina Hill. Within a bizarre show, the narrator helpfully keeps the audience in the loop of the story amidst a buzzing, constantly moving and singing stage crowd (Bill Kenwright, Henry Metcalfe). At times this was overwhelming, McElderry’s presence lost in the mayhem of comic inflatable sheep, Elvis (Ben James-Ellis), Egyptians, a golden motorcycle, curious handmaiden (Anna Campkin, Sallie-Beth Lawless, Gemma Pipe) wardrobe choices, Joseph’s range of skirts and, not forgetting, The Coat (Phil Murphy). McElderry did well to recover command of the stage and audience attention as the lead and gave undeniably strong renditions of the show’s best-known hits, ‘Close Every Door to Me’ and the finale ‘Any Dream Will Do’.

This is a chaotic, cheery and at times disorienting whirlwind of a show, performed by a cast who seemed to fully recognise and laugh along at the boldness and absurdity threaded through it. The youngest and oldest in the audience showed their appreciation the most. Take your children or your grandmother – they’ll be dancing in the aisle, or sitting with their hands high and their heads swaying by the end.

-Karen Clough