Jesus Christ Superstar

The storyline of this show often evokes very strong responses from an audience. This production was no exception. From the opening to the finale of this show, there was a feeling of tense anticipation. The sets although simple were the perfect backdrop for the clever use of lighting which produced a range of effects and created various atmospheres. The costumes too, were excellent although I did not feel it was necessary to dress the guards in Nazi uniforms. Alex Hillman was tremendous as Jesus. He had excellent vocals showing an amazing voice range! He also displayed a wide range of facial expressions, emotions and dynamics in his voice both in speech and song. Samantha Kelly who played Mary Magdelene had a beautifully melodic singing voice and had the ability to stay still and use this tranquillity for maximum effect. Her duet with Peter (Max Sackman) was brilliant, their voices blending well together with just the right level of emotion. The deep voice of Calaphas (Danny Owen) was really remarkable and helped to emphasise his position of strength .Pilate (Paul Tully) again showed what a good voice he has and always stayed fully in character throughout. He encapsulated the feeling of ambivalence as he realises Jesus is no common criminal, but also recognises that the people want him to be crucified. Herod’s scene (Alan Jenkins) was great fun and brought light relief from the tense build-up. Alan has great energy and enthusiasm. He always gives a totally committed performance and becomes his character The chorus members at times, however, had a tendency to move too close to him and mask him from the audience. In the crowd scenes it was noticeable that some of the principals relaxed and dropped out of character. The scene with the apostles was superbly acted by everyone and was very effective. Tony Bryant was dynamic as Judas although at times he found the voice range of his songs extremely difficult. He, more than others on stage, found the orchestral accompaniment overpowering. It was almost as if they were in competition with one another! Although the accompaniment was played well, it was quite often too loud especially during the up-beat rock numbers. This was a shame as it detracted from what was a tremendous production.

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