Curve’s Sunset Boulevard in Concert moves online due to Tier 3 restrictions

Photo credit: Manuel Harlan (2017 production)

Due to Tier 3 restrictions in Leicester, the Curve’s upcoming production of Sunset Boulevard in Concert has been cancelled. However, the show will be still be performed in the venue’s newly configured audience and filmed in HD for home viewing.

The concert will be streamed from 22 December 2020 - 9 January 2021, with three performances daily. Tickets start at £20 and will be available to stream across the world, with the exception of North America.

Starring in the production will be Ria Jones as Norma Desmond and Danny Mac as Joe Gillis, alongside Molly Lynch as Betty Schaefer, Adam Pearce as Max Von Mayerling, Dougie Carter as Artie Green and Carl Sanderson as Cecil B DeMille.

The Sunset Boulevard company will also include Benjamin Chambers, Owen Chaponda, Joanna Goodwin, Kristoffer Hellström, James Meunier, Gemma Naylor, Joanna O’Hare, Jessica Paul, Sam Peggs and Barney Wilkinson.

Curve’s Artistic Director Nikolai Foster will once again direct this production of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical masterpiece, which features book and lyrics by Don Black and Christopher Hampton and is based on the 1950 film by Billy Wilder.

A 16-piece orchestra will bring the musical’s score to life with musical supervision by Stephen Brooker. Set Designer Colin Richmond, Video Designer Douglas O’Connell and Choreographer Lee Proud will also rejoin the production team.

Curve’s Chief Executive Chris Stafford and Artistic Director Nikolai Foster said: “Due to Leicester entering Tier 3 and the uncertainty of when we will be able to reopen, we have made the difficult decision to cancel public performances of Sunset Boulevard. We are incredibly disappointed not to welcome audiences back to Curve this Christmas, especially as we have invested significantly in measures to ensure we can operate in a Covid-safe way.

 However, the show must go on and in a Curve first, we will be bringing back our terrific Sunset Boulevard company to film the production for audiences to watch from the comfort of their own homes. The concert staging will see our stalls cleared of seats to accommodate our socially distanced 16-piece orchestra and we will celebrate every corner of Curve’s astonishing in-the-round auditoria with Andrew Lloyd Webber’s magnificent score. Although we are sorry not to be able to come together in person this Christmas, we are delighted we can share this specially-created concert with audiences across our city and beyond. Our sincere thanks to Really Useful Group, Paramount Pictures, UK Theatre, the Musicians Union, our sponsors PPL and the Culture Recovery Fund for helping make this possible.”

 All current ticket holders for the live production will be eligible for either a full refund or an exchange for an ‘at home’ ticket. The theatre’s box office will be in contact shortly.

To book tickets for the streamed performance, please click here.