Sam Ryder: Jesus Christ Superstar ‘feels a bit like coming home’

Sam Ryder will soon be spending the summer at The London Palladium, headlining a revival of Jesus Christ Superstar.

Where better place for him to debut his world premiere performance than in front of a live audience of musical megafans at the National Lottery’s Big Night of Musicals? Before taking to the stage, Ryder chatted with host Jason Manford about how the opportunity to make his musical theatre debut came about.

He explained that he had been “in the studio” with Andrew Lloyd Webber, whom he affectionately called “Big Andy,” saying the experience was “amazing.”

“While we were there, I couldn’t help myself, and [Lloyd Webber] was sitting at the piano and I said, ‘Give us a shot at singing ‘Gethsemane'” and played it and I sang along, and we recorded it.”

It wasn’t until a few months later, when they’d just finished the release of a Christmas record that Ryder had put out in 2023 (“We narrowly lost out at the number one spot to Wham!”) that he received a phone call from the Lord himself.

“It was the kindest thing ever,” he started, “I blacked out for most of it because I was so shocked.”

Ryder recalls Lloyd Webber saying: “This will just be a footnote and not to worry because he’d just got the mix back of ‘Gethsemane’ and it had knocked his socks off… It just made my day, such kindness and such an inspiring dude.”

Ahead of his performance, the singer noted that Ian Gillan, the original Jesus Christ Superstar, was the first to record the vocals. “He inspired some of my other favourite vocalists. I have got to shout out Bruce Dickinson from Iron Maiden. There’s so much heavy metal heritage sewn into the DNA of this show, and I started out playing in punk and metal bands, touring around in an old tiling van, so it feels a bit like coming home.”

Jesus Christ Superstar is a rock opera by composer Lloyd Webber and lyricist Tim Rice. It tells the story of the final weeks of Jesus’s life, focusing on his relationship with Judas Iscariot and the political and emotional tensions surrounding his crucifixion. The show premiered on Broadway in 1971, with a West End premiere the following year. It was last seen in London at the Barbican Theatre in 2019, with a regional tour in 2024 and a recent actor-musician revival at the Watermill Theatre in Newbury.

Tim Sheader will direct Ryder and the cast after he previously presented the show at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre in 2016 and 2017. He reunites with creatives designer Tom Scutt and choreographer Drew McOnie.

The creative team is joined by musical supervisor Tom Deering, lighting designer Lee Curran, sound designer Adam Fisher, fight director Kate Waters and BAFTA Award-winning casting director David Grindrod

The production will run for a limited 11-week season from 20 June to 5 September 2026.