Actor-musician Jesus Christ Superstar unveils company

Exclusive: The Watermill Theatre has announced the casting for its 2025 summer musical – a revival of Jesus Christ Superstar by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber. The production will run from 24 June to 21 September 2025.

Told entirely through song, Jesus Christ Superstar follows the final days of Jesus as seen through the eyes of Judas Iscariot. The piece explores the relationships and struggles between Jesus, Judas, Mary Magdalene, his disciples, his followers and the Roman Empire, set to a 1970s rock score.

The production at the Watermill will see the action spilling out into the gardens, with a cast of actor-musicians performing numbers including “Superstar”, “Gethsemane” and “I Don’t Know How to Love Him”.

Set to star will be Michael Kholwadia, who will play Jesus, Max Alexander-Taylor as Judas and Parisa Shahmir as Mary.

Joining them will be Michali Dantes as Simon, Seb Harwood as Peter, Christian Edwards (The Sound of Music) as Pilate, Samuel Morgan-Grahame as Herod, Olugbenga Adelekan as Caiaphas, and Alexander Zane (Beautiful) as Annas.

The ensemble includes Jordan Eskeisa, Maisie Mandley, Hazel Monaghan, Tasha Chu (dance captain), Lily Françoise, Trisha Kumar, Alex Anthony Fevrier, Sebastian Hugo, and Finan McKinney, who is cover Jesus.

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The production is directed by Paul Hart, with choreography by Anjali Mehra, and lighting design by Rory Beaton (all three reuniting after working together on The Lord of the Rings, which has subsequently transferred worldwide).

It also features set and costume design by David Woodhead, musical supervision by Stuart Morley, sound design by Tom Marshall, and video design by D T Denton. The team also includes Layla Madanat (associate director), Rebecca Kelly (musical director), Vanessa Vince-Pang (associate choreographer) and Nicola Crawford (assistant lighting designer).

The stage management team are Cat Pewsey (company stage manager), Emily Stedman (rehearsal stage manager), Geoff Field (stage manager), Richard Lodge (deputy stage manager), Caitlin Ravenscroft and Natalie Toney (assistant stage manager), and Ellie Smallbone (assistant stage manager placement).

Listen to the show being discussed in an exclusive WhatsOnStage Podcast here: