REVIEW:

Sunset Boulevard, Mayflower Theatre

LIFE imitates art in a stand out moment from the revival of Sunset Boulevard as the entire cast gather around the leading lady belting out an emotional number.

Their awe is surely not acted as Ria Jones completely owns the part, filling the theatre with her fine soprano in a role she was always destined to play. She was originally chosen to play Norma Desmond when Andrew Lloyd Webber first workshopped Sunset Boulevard nearly 30 years ago. An incredible turn stepping into the glamorous shoes, gowns and headdresses of Desmond when Glenn Close fell ill during a special concert staging at London Coliseum last year has finally allowed her to shine as the haunted heroine.

Fallen silent movie star Desmond hires young, impoverished screenwriter Joe Gillis (an impressive turn from Dougie Carter) to help stage her comeback. She makes a wonderful, if slightly overbearing sugar mummy, until he is tempted away.

It’s pure Lloyd Webber and a sad story all round with a tragic end. The most poignant relationship is between Norma and butler Max Von Meyerling (a passionate Adam Pearce), her loving sidekick.

It’s an epic visual and aural spectacle with the superb score played out in stunning style by a large orchestra and an intricate ever evolving set depicting everything from a Paramount Pictures set to the pool of a mansion in the Hollywood Hills.

Until Saturday. Tickets: 023 8071 1811 or mayflower.org.uk