Ready for my close up: a Sunset Boulevard review

Regarded as the 'show of the year' by the Daily Mail, Sunset Boulevard in London is a theatrical adaptation of the 1950s film of the same name. This revival of Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical was directed by Jamie Lloyd and ran at the Savoy Theatre for 16 weeks from September 2023.

Norma Desmond is a former silent film star, confronted with the fading of her fame and her ageing beauty. She dreams of her return to the big screen, anticipating to reign over la-la land once again. She gets glimpses of her comeback when she meets Joe Gillis, a screenwriter searching for his next big break, and the two enter into an unlikely partnership to get Norma back in black and white.

Norma's character is fuelled by a desire for fame and being in the spotlight; her character always seeking external validation from adoring fans and floods of paparazzi. Her fame fixation leads to her demise; Norma "descends into madness" throughout the show. This character is troubled by the validation she so deeply needs. When society decides they no longer need her, she is left feeling unfulfilled, isolated and experiences a complete loss of identity.

Norma engages in self-harming behaviours in response to an overwhelm of emotions and a feeling of self-blame, as well as undergoing major cosmetic surgery in an attempt to look how she once did. She attributes her worth to her fame, and her fame was attributed to her youth and beauty. Norma is driven by her pursuit of stardom, and because of this fixation to get back into the spotlight, she would kill for another 15 minutes of fame… literally.

As a society, do we have a role to play in this? The celebration and praise we offer to our favourite singers, actors and sports players, is that damaging? Norma flourished in the limelight but withered in the shadows of her former beauty.

This hauntingly brilliant production puts Nicole Scherzinger in the spotlight, undertaking the role of Norma Desmond, however, the show I saw welcomed Rachel Tucker into the infamous role. Nicole Scherzinger playing this character was a clever juxtaposition, with Scherzinger arguably at a high point in her career playing a character of a "has-been".

This performance led me to think about how society treats celebrities, our relationship with the limelight and the complexity of how human identity is formed. It is being reported that many children today have aspirations of becoming influencers; being under the watchful eyes of society.

Will we have an epidemic of mental health issues for discarded influencers? Will we collectively decide their time is up and cast them into the shadows?

This show is well worth a watch from a psychological perspective, making me think twice about what the future holds for some of my favourite celebrities today. Even with all the glitz and glamour that comes with fame, I'm not sure I am ready for my close-up.

Dani Olliffe, Psychological Wellbeing Associate at Founders Taboo. Twitter/X: @Dani_Olliffe