The second and third acts of Sue Blundell’s musical drama Silence and Joy will be shown online in April — completing the three-part story of the troubled musical genius Ludwig van Beethoven.
The play presents Lloyd Morris as Ludwig van Beethoven as he struggles with the onset of deafness and his disenchantment with his former hero, now turned tyrant, Napoleon Bonaparte.
By the time of Napoleon’s retreat from Moscow, Beethoven is learning to live with adversity. When his great Choral Symphony, The Ninth, is finally performed, he is almost completely deaf.
Ben Scheck stars as virtuoso violinist George Bridgetower, and Matthew Coulton as Ferdinand Ries, the composer’s friend and loyal assistant. Patrons, lovers, and an irate theatre manager are also played by Scheck and Coulton. Also featured are violinist Ronald Long Jr and pianist Jill Morton. It is directed by Kat Medithis, and Music Director/Video Editor is Elliott DeVivo.
Silence and Joy (Acts 2 and 3) by Sue Blundell will be premiered at 7.30pm on Friday 8 April 2022, on YouTube. The link to the video will be published on the play’s Facebook Page from 4 April. Poster (PDF). Act 1 was aired in October 2020.