Regent's Park Open Air Theatre to present Jesus Christ Superstar open-air concert production for 70 shows
Regent's Park Open Air Theatre will re-open its doors for 70 performances of Jesus Christ Superstar this summer.
With reduced capacity down to 390 seats, the show will be presented from Friday 14 August for six weeks.
The 90-minute production of Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber's show will have socially distanced audiences and cast members. Those performing are to be revealed.
Executive director William Village said: "Following the government's announcement last week that outdoor theatres may re-open, we have been working around the clock to find a way to open in August and September this year. With social distancing, seating capacity has been dramatically reduced to 390 seats (down from 1,256).
"This makes producing any large-scale show economically extremely challenging, particularly as we are an unfunded organisation. Nevertheless, both for us as a venue, and the industry as a whole, we believe it is incumbent upon us to do everything possible to re-open this year, and we're delighted to announce this special concert staging of our award-winning production of Jesus Christ Superstar."
Artistic director Timothy Sheader said: "It has been, and continues to be, an incredibly challenging time for everyone working in the theatre industry. Whilst the arts sector awaits details of how the government's support package will be disseminated, I'm heartened that we have been able to start work again with a number of our colleagues and to employ over 140 people including 70 performers and freelancers, at least for a brief period this summer."
The creative team features Will Burton CDG and David Grindrod CDG (casting), Lee Curran (lighting design), Tom Deering (musical supervisor), Barbara Houseman (associate director, voice and text), Drew McOnie (choreography), Nick Lidster for Autograph (sound design), Tom Scutt (design), Timothy Sheader (director), Kate Waters (fight director) and Denzel Westley-Sanderson (co-director).
The venue previously revealed it had plans to re-open after the government made outdoor performances possible earlier this month.
In addition to presenting a concert version of Lloyd Webber and Rice's show, the venue will also be presenting comedy from Rob Beckett, Gabby Best, Russell Brand, Jimmy Carr, Kerry Godliman, Russell Kane, Olga Koch, Judi Love, Suzi Ruffell, Sindhu Vee and Mischief Theatre.
Tickets go on sale on 21 July.
