Jesus Christ Superstar

Walking into the auditorium, the curtains were already open allowing the audience to see the set from the outset. The set was incredibly impressive, one of the best I have seen for this production. It had a simple triangle shape built around two large staircases, which led to a platform that held another triangle shape, this time made out of coloured blocks (that changed throughout the production) which also housed a hidden door, very clever and very effective. There were even moveable stairs that filled the gap between the two staircases, for scenes that required them, that then disappeared off stage when they weren’t needed – these were great and really helped make the most of the set, although they did unfortunately make a bit of a noise when they came on and off. This simple, yet brightly coloured set, worked incredibly well for this production. For the vast majority of the show, there were no props or set decorations which again really enhanced the production. The only exception to this was during “Everything’s Alright” when two prop candles were brought on to the stage, unfortunately these looked a little tacky and just showed how effective the rest of the production was when no stage props were used.

Having an impressive set is one thing, but if it is not well lit then any impression made by it could easily be lost. Well done then to Danny Norris Technicians, who did a fantastic job of lighting the production. It was colourful; moody and dramatic and really enhanced the whole atmosphere. Especially effective was the lighting used in the final scene, to light Jesus’ crucifixion. It was incredibly emotional and looked like the sun shining through the clouds, which created a very beautiful and poignant moment.

The sound by David Riley of Northern Lights Productions, was mostly good during the performance but there were a few moments when it was a little quiet and hard to hear.  Although these moments were minimal, one of them was during the healing section of “The Temple”, which started very quiet and also, unfortunately, had some feedback and crackling mic issues. With this production, having a good orchestra is a must and your musicians, under the direction of Gill Merrifield were very good, although it did seem that sometimes the orchestra, and indeed the singing, was not as “rocky” as they could have been and we did wonder if this was due to catering for the elder members of the audience. Although the lighting was impressive and the sound good, one problem we did have was due to either the sound or the lighting desk at the back of the auditorium.  I’m not sure which desk it was, but the two gentleman talked to each other throughout most of the production, which was very irritating and distracting.

The costumes, from Costume Workshop on the Isle of Wight, were great and perfectly suited the production. The costumes for Herod’s dancers and the Siren’s during “Jesus Christ Superstar”, were especially good. However, although it fitted well with Da Vinci’s painting, Jesus’ last supper outfit looked a little out of place in the production, and it was good to see him back in his plain white outfit shortly after. In your programme it stated that Derek Easton was in charge of the wigs for this production, but it didn’t seem like any of the cast were wearing any, so this just shows what a great job Derek did.

With a production like JCS, there are always going to be a high number of chorus members, to help make up big crowd scenes, and without decent direction or choreography these scenes can seem muddled and messy. Not here though, everyone in the chorus did a fantastic job and all seemed to work very well together. The choreography for this performance was very good throughout, especially pleasing though was the choreography for “Simon Zealotes” song which seemed incredibly similar to the songs choreography in the 1973 film, starring Ted Neeley. During productions, there are always those few members of the chorus who seem to just stand out from the others, in this production all members of the chorus were on point at all times, and everyone took part in great background acting. However, especially impressive were Sarah Symcox and, again as in White Christmas, Liz Stallard also really stood out amongst the crowds.

All members of the show were incredibly well cast and all played their roles well. Nick Harris, as Jesus, showed that he has the stage presence to carry a production well. Although his singing voice was good, it didn’t seem quite strong enough to do the character justice but that was until we got to “Gethsemane”, which is the real make or break song for Jesus. Once we got to this point, Nick really pulled out all the stops and absolutely blasted Gethsemane and really made the song his own. The always dependable Rich Walters, did not disappoint in his performance of Caiaphas and added a lot to the role with some pretty menacing looks and worked very well with Stevie P, as Annas, who was exceptional in this role and really evoked memories of Kurt Yaghjian. Michael Francis and Matt Parker, in their roles as Simon and Peter respectively, were also very good and very believable, both had strong voices which worked well within the ensemble. Herod, played by Duncan Wright, did a good job with this role, being the only moment of lightness in an otherwise bleak production. Paul Graham was suitably menacing as Pilate, and managed to portray Pilate’s inner turmoil in a very strong way (very cool coat too!). Poppy Rendell did an interesting job of playing Mary, although she didn’t have the strongest voice I’ve heard in this role, she sang with absolute conviction and you really believed every single word. Her emotional portrayal of this character has to be one of the best I have seen. However, the star of the show had to be Luke Whitchurch, in the lead role of Judas. Luke completely nailed the vocal challenges of this role with ease and you could really feel the conflict inside of him oozing out across the stage, although sometimes his stomping edged more towards stroppy teenager, overall his was a star performance in an outstanding production.

In conclusion, this production was exceptionally good and easily met and exceeded any expectations I had. Massive congratulations to Jeremy Tustin and Sheila Driver and their team for bringing the whole thing together so well. Also impressive was the work of Sheila and Paula Budzynski in the production of the programme which, like the production itself, was of an exceptionally high standard. Well done to everyone, it was an honour to come and see your production and see “What the Buzz” was all about and I hope that Nick and Luke’s voices hold out for the whole run.

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