Alhambra Theatre Bradford – until 12th September 2026
Reviewed by Lauren Fordham
5*****
Diva Productions’ innovative interpretation of ‘Sunset Boulevard’ the musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber is inspired by Billy Wilder’s 1950 film of the same name. It chronicles screenwriter Joe Gillis’ (James Banks) unsuccessful attempt to get his script actioned by Paramount Studios and his car loan paid off – while evading repo men he ends up at the isolated mansion of old silent-movie star, Norma Desmond (Alison George.)
Discovering that Gillis is a writer, she pays him to edit her substandard script based on ‘Salome’, which she insists Paramount Pictures are calling to make into a movie. Gillis moves into Desmond’s mansion and becomes her kept man, with whom she quickly falls in love. When Gillis tries to extricate himself to liaise with people he met at Paramount, including his love interest, script reader Betty Schaefer (played by Meg Riley) he gets reports of Desmond’s suicide attempts. Although drawn back to her side several times, Gillis becomes increasingly frustrated with Desmond’s delusions and controlling behaviour, and prepares to leave her, once and for all. Learning of his relationship with Schaefer, in a jealous, possessive rage Norma shoots Gillis, and when the police arrive, she goes willingly, believing that they are representatives of Paramount who have finally come to make her movie.
Diva Productions’ founders Andrew Ashley and Andy Fretwell both have backgrounds in video design and always seek to produce innovative, original versions of popular musicals, so they chose to produce ‘Sunset Boulevard’ as if it were a movie musical, adopting film conventions on a screen in the background by crediting the stars by name and announcing location/scenes using stage directions to give a clear sense of place and time. Ashley and Fretwell have also made the unique, ambitious and inspired decision to present Sunset Boulevard as a film-within-a-film, where a camera operator, Joanne Edwards, follows the cast around and their faces are shown on an enlarged black and white video screen in the background. The video screen was extremely effective in highlighting characters’ emotions and underscoring Don Black and Christopher Hampton’s lyrics like ‘no words can tell what my eyes can tell’ – credit here must also go to Iona Wilson for the dramatic, gothic style makeup she has George wear.
Tribute must also be paid to Andy Fretwell’s costume design and the way in which that furthers the monochrome theme and dichotomy of light and innocence, exemplified by Meg Riley’s Schaefer wearing white, and darkness and stagnation, represented by the long, dark, Miss Havisham-esque gown that Desmond wears throughout.
The video screens effectively evoke location, for example when Gillis and Schaefer are running through Paramount Studios, and this was more effective at sustaining drama than physical set pieces, which might have distracted the audience’s attention from the characters – and, as prior ‘Sunset Boulevard’ fans will know, Norma Desmond would certainly not have countenanced any distractions from her audience, so neither should ‘Diva.’
I last saw video screen projection and onstage cameras used (equally effectively) in Diva’s sister company, Powerhouse’s teen production of Les Miserables in 2025, but they were used more sparingly and I think ‘Sunset Boulevard’ could have benefited from a similar approach to make the intense moments where they were used, such as Joe Gillis capturing his own shooting, more impactful. At some points, the action on the video screens wasn’t quite in sync with the actors’ live singing and that took me out of the story somewhat. By contrast, I adored the scene where ensemble dancers Grace Wassell and Cayden Carter are visible on the screen silently mirroring Gillis and Desmond’s dance on stage. I feel that was truest to Desmond being a silent movie star, turning the focus to her face and having, as the lyrics go, literally ‘no words.’
Lighting was also effectively used in this scene to denote Desmond and Gillis’ footsteps in the dark ballroom, in a way that reminded me of Disney’s ‘Frozen’s’ Elsa shooting ice with her every footstep, it’s as though Gillis dancing romantically with Desmond is allowing light to break through her darkness.
Andrew Ashley and Nathan Purcell have designed elaborate, movie-style lighting at Paramount Studios and frequently cast on Desmond. I particularly liked the lighting on Desmond’s mansion gate because it resembled a star, as if Gillis had been led there by it like the wise men were led to Jesus. That’s definitely an interpretation Desmond would appreciate, anyway, such is her own impression of her self-importance, she does think she is messianic in the movie world, at least.
This lighting is dazzlingly effective at emphasising Desmond’s belief that she is still revered – the literal brightness of the light also functions figuratively as a metaphor for Desmond’s failed relationships and perceived reasons for her abandonment – you cannot look at such a light for long without harm.
Another innovation brought to Diva’s ‘Sunset Boulevard’, this time by choreographer Charlotte Wallis, is adding dancers to many scenes. In the early scenes at Paramount Studios, the black-clad ensemble’s choreography serves to crowd out the room and add tension because if you fall in show business, there are always any number of faceless strangers waiting to pounce and take your place.
Choreography is used to evoke pace, such as the car chase by the repo men who are after Joe, and also place, such as the scenes in Desmond’s swimming pool where the ensemble duck and weave to evoke undulating water. In the number ‘Sunset Boulevard’, this choreography also synchronised in a synergistic way with Russ McArthur’s almost premonitory percussion, as if Gillis would drown beneath the crashing waves.
Alison George, who plays Norma Desmond, is the brightest star in Diva’s dazzling firmament of a show, which is the perfect metaphor for the way Andrew Ashley physically lights up her show-stopping number, ‘As If We Never Said Goodbye.’ She is as captivating as Glenn Close, her vocals soar higher than Nicole Scherzinger’s, and she is destined for superstar success.
James Banks’ Gillis and Meg Riley’s Betty Schaefer have a sweet chemistry and Riley an innocent yet soaring vocal that would make her a great fit for ‘Phantom of the Opera’s Meg Giry. Banks is also a great actor whose portrayal of Gillis’ shooting suggests he’d be quite at home in the horror sector.
The commitment to the show’s monochrome, literal and figurative light and darkness themes extend from every aspect of the show onstage even into Andrew Ashley’s programme design. Though I appreciated the extra-textual consistency, the small, pale white/grey font made much of the programme content difficult to read.
Although ‘Sunset Boulevard’ is a show dominated by powerful leads, Andrew Ashley and Andy Fretwell’s perfectly-cast production has once again illuminated a whole galaxy of talent. This is a company whose innovation lights the way for other groups, a metaphorical guiding star that shows a clear and well-worn path to theatrical triumph.
