Jesus Christ Superstar - U.K. Tour

Doesn't look like further star casting will be announced for Herod. Timo Tatzbar has been announced as Herod at other venues.

Oh dear. That sounds bad.

Ok I may have been a little harsh. It's the first night...
Act 2 definitely picked up the pace. Other than Julian clary who just spoke his words and added his usual ad libs.

Clary was shocking..
Ruined it.

Sound for Judas' vocals also seemed a bit off all night. Not sure if it was the sound mix or his voice or a bit of both



Thought Mary and Jesus were good

Hadnt seen the previous London productions but enjoyed this production

Band sounded good

I was also at the first performance this evening. For context, between Regent’s Park and the Barbican I’ve seen this production 4 times, and I think it is superlative. The work that Tim Sheader, Drew McOnie, Tom Scutt, and Tom Deering have done on this production is phenomenal and I can’t imagine a better version of the show. So perhaps it’s unsurprising that I thought this evening’s performance was fantastic 😂

I agree with other posters that there were a few minor hiccups tonight, which are probably down to it being the first performance and will hopefully be ironed out as the show beds in. Otherwise, I thought that this was an excellent re-working of the production. The design keeps the essence of the Regent’s Park/Barbican set while adapting it for touring venues, the direction and choreography have been recreated faithfully, and mixing issues aside it sounds great.

What’s more, the cast is largely excellent. Ian Mcintosh is sensational in the title role - on a par with Declan Bennett and Rob Tripolino before him. His voice suits the score well and he knows how to use it, picking his moments to really let rip with the rock belt for maximum effect. Likewise, Hannah Richardson brings a personal vocal touch to Mary, as has been the case with the previous actresses who have taken on the role in this production. The supporting cast are all strong, although less distinctive than their predecessors. Perhaps that will come with time.

Shem Omari James clearly has the voice for Judas, but tonight I felt that his performance was not very assured, and I struggled to get much emotion from him. Perhaps that’s just first night nerves and his performance will deepen once the tour has settled in, but I felt that among the leading cast he was the weakest link. Julian Clary plays Julian Clary, as expected, and while he need only walk on stage to get a laugh from the audience, his droll style doesn’t quite fit here. I can’t help but wonder whether the actor who is playing the role in Mr Clary’s absence will play it along the same lines, or if he’ll revert to the more crazed and flamboyant version of the character as embodied by e.g. Peter Caulfield and Sam Buttery. I think the latter is probably more effective.

Anyway, I would thoroughly recommend seeing this tour if it’s coming near you. If I wasn’t so busy over the next two weeks I would return multiple times. Based on his performance as Simon this evening, I think the alternate Judas might be one to watch, so if anyone sees him in the role please do post your thoughts!

As I recall, this production has had three slightly different endings so far all centering around Jesus "returning to the fold" and sitting on the steps of the set.

I haven't seen this one yet but the Barbican ending was subtly different to the OAT ending. Not in a huge way.

Is the set from this much reduced from the Barbican? I’d kind of expected it to be the same.

Fairly sure the “scaffolding” that made up most of the set was 2 “L” shapes covering sides and back of stage with a gap in the middle for fake trees/foliage and the cross.

From the Manchester pics I’ve seen it looks like it’s just in a line at back of stage rather than L shaped?!

You’re right that the two structures are just rectangular rather than L-shaped. They fill the width of the stage though, with only a small gap between. Compared to the Barbican/Open Air - yes, it’s reduced. However there’s no way those sets would have fitted into many touring venues. I think what they’ve got is a good balance between preserving the look of the set and making it adaptable to stages of various sizes.

Saw it again tonight. Brilliant performances from all concerned (except Clary who was still dreadful). Last week's niggles were obviously first night nerves. Shem was far more confident from the start and could hear all his lines this time. Ian is really growing into the role, he gave an incredible performance of Gethsemane which was definitely up there with some of the best I've seen.

Yes as far as I can remember. Didn't get many laughs.