Jesus Christ Superstar (tour)

In Jesus Christ Superstar, lyricist Tim Rice and composer Andrew Lloyd Webber have taken on a timeless story which has inspired many artistic masterpieces. But, here, while the characters all sport Biblical names, they have 20th-century personalities, and the dramatic dynamics of the work are essentially modern. The gospels’ cosmic drama of atonement and redemption is reduced to a rather ordinary human story of love and betrayal, rooted firmly in the 1970s.

The fact that the lyrics are largely banal wouldn’t matter if the score were imaginative and inventive, but much of the music is monotonous and mostly too loud – amplified to and beyond the point of distortion. The narrow range of instruments in the orchestra (three guitars, three keyboards and drums) doesn’t allow for much subtlety and variation either.

Something seems missing at the heart of this piece. Once you’ve removed the transcendental elements from the story, it depends entirely upon its humanity, but neither the words nor music make you care about anyone in this production. There’s no emotional involvement or engagement on any profound level.

Gale Edwards is a very fine director and, quite rightly, she sets this work largely in modern dress. Cages of bombs and television sets reinforce the production’s modernity. Arvid Larsen as Jesus and Mark O’Malley as Judas head a cast – of 23 men and six women – which is young, enthusiastic and committed. They work so hard, but the poverty of their material almost defeats them. Almost, but not quite.

In the last quarter of the show, three scenes thrillingly break into life and give us an idea of what could have been. First, the Las Vegas style King Herod is played with panache and aplomb by Hadrian Delacey. Next, the scourging of Jesus at the court of Pilate (Christopher Howard) is beautifully managed.

But Edwards’ most inventive and convincing work is shown in the posthumous appearance of Judas on the road to Calvary. With a hand mike and glitter costume, he’s accompanied by two media film crews who take live pictures of the El Greco-like Christ which are projected onto a huge screen dropped from the flies. If this startling relation of the work to the worst excesses of modern life could have been taken further, earlier in the production, it would have been a much more interesting evening.

When Superstar first opened in New York in 1971, it broke new ground in musical theatre. But 30 years on, not even a director of Edwards’ quality can disguise the fact that it’s dated badly and seems less meaningful. However, many people do love this musical and fans will probably enjoy this lively production. Certainly, the audience in Plymouth’s Theatre Royal applauded most enthusiastically at the end.

Robert Hole

Jesus Christ Superstar is playing: Theatre Royal Plymouth 24 April-12 May; King’s Theatre Glasgow 15 May-2 June; Milton Keynes Theatre 5-23 June; Theatre Royal Nottingham 26 June-21 July; Bristol Hippodrome 24 July-18 August.

To read a review of Jesus Christ Superstar from its last run in the West End, click here.