Jesus Christ Super Star

Carmarthen Youth Opera certainly are not new to the production of Jesus Christ Super Star, having performed the classic musical on nine previous occasions. Steve Elias (Director) certainly produced a unique interpretation

of this well-known musical, which for me personally was extremely moving and most certainly current with today’s issues in society relating to the refugee crisis.

From the opening number ‘Heaven on their minds’ the cast captured the packed out auditorium with enthusiasm and energy. Joe Martin, who played Judas Iscariot one of the twelve apostles of Jesus, worked tirelessly on stage providing the audience with a strong performance. Cerys James played the well-known roll of Mary Magdalene, firstly a follower of Jesus to then find herself falling in love with him. My favourite number of Cerys’s was ‘I Don’t Know How to Love Him’ which she sang beautifully. Matthew Tucker played Pontius Pilate the Governor of Judea and showed great energy on stage. Callum Williams, who played Caiaphas one of the main antagonists and who sees Jesus as a threat to the nation, had great stage presence and certainly committed to his character, this was not only shown by his performance and extremely low register but also by the change of his hair colour to enhance his character! Noa Radford played Annas, a fellow priest working alongside Caiaphas who had persuaded Annas that Jesus is most certainly a threat, gave the role justice and conviction I enjoyed his contribution to ‘This Jesus Must Die’.

Jordan Williams played Peter, who is one of Jesus’s twelve apostles who denies him several times upon the night of Jesus’s arrest, played a great role with his strong vocal ability. Oliver Goulstone played Simon Zealot, again one of Jesus’s apostles, who urges Jesus to lead his followers into a battle with the Roman, his rendition of Simon Zealot/Poor Jerusalem was appreciated by the audience.

There were great performances from the other disciples, Alfie Evans as Andrew, Franco Lopez as James, Osian Radford as John, Harry John as Andrew James, Kaelun Boswell as Mathew, Euan Bickerdike as Phillip, Luke Curtis as Jude, Rhidian Jones-Davies as Bartholomew and Ben Jones as Thomas.

A special mention must go to a gentleman who has brought his creativity to the stage not only by his direction but also by his performance as King Herod who is The King of Galilee. Steven Elias executed a high energy jazz like performance dressed in a very interesting costume but I feel the light up trainers must be noted, I was duly impressed.

There is a character which for me stole the entire show and rightly so, not solely because of his performance ability and his tender age of 16, but also because of what he brought to the stage. Oliver John played Jesus the King of the Jews and his heartfelt performance was something that I truly believe every single person felt in the auditorium. The role of Jesus is a huge role to play and you have a responsibility to deliver something that for many people plays a huge part of their lives. Oliver certainly delivered the goods on this occasion with his passion shining through on stage and his enthusiasm being something applaudable. You should be very proud of yourself as I am sure that Steve and Mike both are.

The principals were supported by a varied in age ensemble cast which worked the space and were a pleasure to watch.

The set and costumes were modern and worked well with the unique interpretation and twist that had been incorporated into this classic musical.

Da Iawn Carmarthen Youth Opera you should be very proud!

© NODA CIO. All rights reserved.