Jesus Christ Superstar - Regents Park Open Air / Barbican

I had never read the whole of this thread before, but I did last night and now I know that Ricardo was meant to play Judas originally, it makes me more sure that he should sing the last show. But that’s probably just confirmation bias from me!

Pepe, Ricardo and Maimuna are on for the matinee today - I'm seeing it this evening, so I assume this means no Ricardo for me. (Which is fine because I loved Declan and Tyrone in 2016, but I'm dragging a friend along and was hoping I could introduce her to Ricardo's Judas.)

Just hoping the weather holds because I'm on the grass banks this time...

You’d be pleased to know they are on tonight

Saw the matinee yesterday. It felt very good be be back at a theatre even if it was a slightly odd experience and we got a bit rained on.

I enjoyed the staging a lot - they did a really good job at making the restrictions seem like choices.

On the event information page they list them all but I don't think they list what are available when without looking: openairtheatre.com/production/jesus-christ-superstar-the-concert 

It was. I made a late decision to attend (but only to watch on the screen) once I'd checked the weather was going to be clear.

The screen area is tiny and the grass isn't in a great state of repair. I sat further back on a bench so I could see everyone in front. You do get a bit of the screen (which is small) chopped off by the tree branches, but you also get that same problem in some of the grass positions.

I counted 37 people in that area. Many of them had very weak bladders. One resorted to reading a book. And clearly face masks are optional and not enforced in that area.

That was 37 at the start. Quite a few more by the end with people who had gone to the toilets not allowed back into the theatre. Some clearly not too happy. One having an animated conversation on his phone just by the lawn area. I agree with the ushers not letting them back in, everyone was told on entry. But they should fine them somewhere else to stand rather than be inflicted on the people who have paid for the lawn. One woman came and sat on the other side of the table I was at, ignoring the social distancing sign. I let it slip as she was elderly and I didn't want to cause a scene.

Sound for the screen is very good. The picture quality had one major flaw as the cameras weren't white balanced (surely video production 101). But the view was probably better overall than the single seat I had when I saw this inside and I was able to see a lot more detail.

Very good performances all around. A note to self is this just doesn't look as impressive for the matinee. The darkness at night really adds to things. And there are a lot of helicopters overhead.

Finally, don't choose the lawn if you've a bird phobia. They kept swooping down from the trees without warning (and watch out for the raining acorns).

ALW and Tim Rice were there last night:

(I still wish they'd give us a cast recording with Ricardo...)

Pepe/ Ricardo/ Maimuna tonight, and we had a show stop of about an hour. I’d forgotten just how good Ricardo was as Judas. Disappointed to not see Declan, will probably try and book another ticket at least to try and catch him. I understand why they are not publishing a schedule but I wish they would!

Was Declan, Tyrone, Anoushka tonight. There's no way of knowing unless you know somebody who knows the rota, and they've been mixing the combos up a bit. Whoever you get will be fab, but I'd probably put money on Pepe/Ricardo/Maimuna tomorrow. Enjoy.

wow ive just seen Declan and Tyrone tonight and it was fantastic! Not a concert, pretty much fully staged and new bits of choreography that were brill, Tryone is mind blowing!!!!. Declans vocals didnt hold up to tyrone but his acting choices were great

I see the lawn/screen tickets have been reduced to £10 each. They were £20 when I went last week.

£10 is a much better price and might tempt me back on a pleasant evening.

No chairs when I sat there and I think they’d be frowned upon due to the flat ground and blocking views.

You can sit further back in the cafe table area as I did (assuming no one has grabbed the seats already). You lose a bit of the screen where the tree branches overhang but the sound is clear.