Two parallel romances, with very different outcomes, circle each other in this energetic production of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Carousel.
Set in 1940s Maine, two mill girls enjoy a night out at the fairground. Carrie (played by Jessica Brydges) is already secretly betrothed, her friend Julie (Ruby Bardwell-Dix) meanwhile falls for a bad boy that works on the carousel.
We’re introduced to the scene by a busy ensemble piece, and throughout the near-50 strong cast fill the stage with characterful bustle. There is lots of nicely crafted detail, and some impressive high-jumps and dance matched to the 26-piece live orchestra.
The heartbeat though is the two relationships. Carrie is besotted with herring fisher Enoch (Lucas Fox) and the two make the most of Hammerstein’s witty lyrics. Brydges and Fox play delightfully off each other, with Mister Snow and When The Children Are Asleep a treat to hear and watch.
Meanwhile Julie’s relationship with Billy (Lewis Aves) is much darker, with less for the audience to empathise with. Their courtship and decline is rapid, from tentative vows in If I Loved You, to the very 1940s view of fatherhood in Soliloquy, to the resignation of What’s the Use of Wondr’rin. Vocally they deliver though.
Note of the night however goes to Staisha Jeary as Nettie, charged with the show’s most famous number: You’ll Never Walk Alone. There’s a definite tension in the auditorium as it starts and builds, and breaths held as the high note approaches – and Jeary absolutely nails it, with spine-tingling clarity.
As ever with the Norfolk and Norwich Operatic Society, you have to take a moment to remind yourself this is an amateur production. While the attitude and actions date the story, the production values are totally modern, and the talent on stage and in the pit is worth a song and dance.
- Carousel continues at Norwich Theatre Royal until Saturday 28 February 2026, tickets £25-£37.
