Sunset Boulevard revival to tour next spring

Sunset Boulevard is to return to the stage in a new production at the Octagon Theatre in Bolton as part of the venue’s 60th anniversary season.

Directed by Octagon artistic director Lotte Wakeham, the production will run from 2 April to 1 May 2027 before transferring to co-producers Royal and Derngate Northampton and York Theatre Royal.

The new staging will be performed by a company of actor-musicians, with the Octagon describing the production as an intimate interpretation of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical.

Based on Billy Wilder’s 1950 film, Sunset Boulevard follows Norma Desmond, a former silent-film star living in isolation in her Hollywood mansion and determined to return to the screen. When struggling screenwriter Joe Gillis arrives at her home, he becomes involved in her plans for a comeback. Sorry, a return.

The musical has music by Lloyd Webber and a book and lyrics by Don Black and Christopher Hampton. It premiered at the Adelphi Theatre in London in 1993, with Patti LuPone as Norma Desmond and Kevin Anderson as Joe Gillis. The production subsequently transferred to Broadway in 1994, where Glenn Close famously took over the role of Norma.

The show has since been revived several times, including a 2016 London production starring Close, and the award-winning 2023 West End revival directed by Jamie Lloyd, which starred Nicole Scherzinger as Norma Desmond. That production transferred to Broadway in 2024, where it won seven Tony Awards, including Best Revival of a Musical for its 2025 awards cycle.

The Octagon production forms part of the Bolton theatre’s 60th anniversary celebrations. Wakeham said: “Making and commissioning work for this truly unique space is an honour. Reimaging huge theatrical epics like Sunset Boulevard and Romeo and Juliet is as exciting as it is challenging and I cannot wait to share this work with our audiences.”

The theatre has also developed new musical work, including the world premiere of The Book Thief in 2022, directed by Wakeham.

Sunset Boulevard runs at the Octagon Theatre from 2 April to 1 May 2027. Dates for Northampton will be 5 to 22 May, with York to be revealed, as is casting and further creative team.