Hot on the heels of The Buddy Holly Story, we’re back at Norwich Theatre Royal to watch a Rodgers & Hammerstein classic, Carousel! This is staged by the Norfolk and Norwich Operatic Society (NNOS), who did a spectacular job with Singin’ in the Rain and Les Misèrables in 2025.
The story of Carousel follows carnival worker Billy Bigelow (Lewis Aves) and Julie Jordan (Ruby Bardwell-Dix) who fall in love at the carousel. This happiness is in jeopardy though as Billy has to make a tough choice. Julie’s friend, Carrie Partridge (Jessica Brydges) is also falling for Enoch Snow (Lucas Fox), who has very high ambitions.
Adam Haigh directs the show here and right from the off the staging is energetic, with the cast fleeting all over during the opening overture. The set is modest, but it creates a lot of space for the cast to move about and express themselves. During especially busy sequences, such as “June Is Bustin’ Out All Over” lead brilliantly by Nettie Fowler, the choreography makes great use of the large Theatre Royal stage. Wherever you look, there’s something interesting going on!
Brydges makes an excellent Carrie Partridge, portraying her with a lot of energy and confidence that contrasted really well with the steadiness of Bardwell-Dix’s Julie Jordan. Fox plays a brilliant Enoch too, with a very dry sense of humor and some great comedic timing. We’re familiar with Lucas from the excellent Space Hamlet! Brydges and Fox had great chemistry and helped provide some levity as the story gets darker.
Julie’s central conflict involving her uncertain love for Billy as well the emotional turmoil she endures comes through with intensity. Bardwell-Dix delivers a very confident performance here, including navigating some lengthier and more challenging musical solos. Billy was excellently portrayed by Aves, with strong vocal performances during his musical numbers. Aves grapples with some complex themes here, such as what you do with your life and your impact on others. It was interesting seeing how such an unlikely couple in a Billy and Julie navigated the relationship, and their back and forth was engaging throughout the performance.
All in all, this is a fantastic show put together by a very talented cast and crew! Carousel plays from 24th to 28th February. Book your tickets now!
Chris.
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