How does an ‘actor-musician’ musical even work?

Welcome to this special bonus, mid-week episode of the WhatsOnStage Podcast!

With Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s Jesus Christ Superstar celebrating a lengthy summer run at the award-winning Watermill Theatre in Newbury, we popped into the rehearsal room to find out how the show is being performed by a group of actor-musicians for the first time – transplanting the tunes and placing them slap bang in the heart of the action.

The podcast can be listened to on various streaming platforms – including Apple Podcasts and Audible. Make sure you subscribe so you never miss an episode!

Chief critic Sarah Crompton and editor-in-chief Alex Wood host a weekly series on all things theatrical. News, views, frank exchanges and lists offer an unmissable guide to what’s happening on stage (and in film and on television) now, in the past and in future.

You can listen for free here:

Spotify user? Try this link:

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 runs to 21 September 2025. It sees 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”.