ANDREW Lloyd Webber’s award-winning Sunset Boulevard will come to Southampton next year.

Michael Harrison and David Ian will present the UK and Ireland tour of the Curve production which will play at Mayflower Theatre from Tuesday 16 – Saturday 20 January 2018.

The show will star Ria Jones as Norma Desmond and will be directed by Nikolai Foster.

One of the all-time great musicals, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Tony Award® -winning (Best Musical, Best Original Score and Best Book of a Musical) masterpiece Sunset Boulevard is a compelling story of romance and obsession, based on Billy Wilder’s legendary film, with Don Black and Christopher Hampton's wonderful book and lyrics. This much-loved score includes the title number Sunset Boulevard, With One Look, As If We Never Said Goodbye, The Greatest Star Of All and The Perfect Year and will be performed by a full orchestra.

In her mansion on Sunset Boulevard, faded, silent-screen goddess, Norma Desmond, lives in a fantasy world. Impoverished screen writer, Joe Gillis, on the run from debt collectors, stumbles into her reclusive world. Persuaded to work on Norma’s ‘masterpiece’, a film script that she believes will put her back in front of the cameras, he is seduced by her and her luxurious life-style. Joe becomes entrapped in a claustrophobic world until his love for another woman leads him to try and break free with dramatic consequences.

Last year, Ria Jones played the role of Norma Desmond at the London Coliseum when Glenn Close was indisposed, receiving rave reviews and standing ovations for her performance. Ria has recently starred as Dorothy Brock in 42nd Street at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris. Her West End credits include Fantine in Les Misérables, Grizabella in Cats and Florence in Chess. Her touring credits include Alex in The Witches of Eastwick, Mrs Overall in Acorn Antiques – The Musical, Reno Sweeney in Anything Goes and The Narrator in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.

Director Nikolai Foster is Artistic Director at Curve, one of the UK’s leading regional theatres. His work at Curve includes Jonathan Harvey’s Beautiful Thing and Truman Capote’s Breakfast at Tiffany’s, both on tour and in the West End; A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams and the musicals Grease and Legally Blonde. He directed the hugely successful recent productions of Annie starring Craig Revel Horwood and Calamity Jane starring Jodie Prenger.

Tickets for Sunset Boulevard (16 - 20 January 2018) go on general sale from Friday 24 Feb 2017. tel: 02380 711811 or online at mayflower.org.uk. Ovation Restaurant bookings: 02380 711833.

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