Sam Ryder: ‘I’m giving myself a crash course of the West End’

Sam Ryder attended his first Olivier Awards last night, ahead of making his West End debut this summer.

He’s set to play the title character in a West End revival of Jesus Christ Superstar at The London Palladium – quite the starting point!

In preparation, Ryder told us that he is embarking on an education. “I’ve been putting myself through a crash course of the West End. So anytime, and I mean, anytime, there’s a free night, I’ll go and see something.”

The most recent show he has attended is Phantom of the Opera, which he saw in London for the first time. “It made me realise there are certain differences between shows that really tick my boxes,” he elaborated, “I love practical staging. Sitting waiting for Phantom to start, and you’ve got a big chandelier covered in the hessian bag, right? And the same with Les Mis, like, those sets being wheeled on and wheeled off. Yeah, I just absolutely love it.”

Ryder, who started in the music industry and represented the UK in Eurovision, presented the award for Best Musical Revival, alongside Johannes Radebe. But did he ever foresee playing Jesus Christ? Not at all.

“All the things that have come along in my life and have been an absolute blessing have been things that I’d never even thought to wish for, or strive for, or foresee.
There’s something quite interesting about that, because you completely relinquish control.”

So far, it is working in his favour – his first public performance of “Gethsemane” broke the ticketing website when it was broadcast on the BBC as part of the Big Night of Musicals.

With a summer at the Palladium quickly edging closer, Ryder laughs that he keeps having dreams at night of the show being the next day. “It’s really invigorating and almost childlike… just this proper excitement of being given the privilege of doing this.”

Find out more about Jesus Christ Superstar here.