United Kingdom Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Jesus Christ Superstar: Cliffs Pavilion, Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex, 9.7.2024. (JPr)
Sometimes you must accept when what you see and hear is ‘not for you’. I went to this touring version of a production first seen outdoors at Regent’s Park in 2016 with – I assure you – an open mind. Admittedly I don’t have great memories of the only other performance of Jesus Christ Superstar I had seen at London’s O2 in 2012.
I know if you search out a definition for a ‘musical’ that it suggests dialogue is optional, but this version of Jesus Christ Superstar only works if you accept it as an extended music video of its 1971 concert album roots. This is reflected in Tim Scutt’s rough and ready set which is mostly scaffolding with platforms and walkways. This sometimes is for the action – such as it is – but mostly for the small band. On the floor of the stage is a large cruciform walkway as if from a fashion show.
As the programme reminded us, Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Superstar was ‘based on the last week in the life of the Son of God seen through the eyes of Judas Iscariot’. Almost regardless of your beliefs you will know some of what the Bible tells us happened. However, for me, without dialogue – and being occasionally unable to decipher the lyrics of songs – I was mostly at a loss as to what was happening in Jesus’s life till the palms gave it away that this was his entry into Jerusalem leading to the confrontation with the high priest, Caiaphas.
Scutt’s costumes make a distinction between the high priests and the Romans whilst almost everyone else was in streetwear, and it was difficult to know who was who. A fairly morose Jesus wanders around through the throng with his guitar as if all concerned were on their way to Glastonbury. One of Jesus’s miracles is that he cast out evil spirits but here – as over-choreographed by Drew McOnie – it looked as if all those perpetually on the move were possessed and Jesus had a real job on his hands.
That the leading characters sing with a microphone in their hands or on a stand is another misstep and means it is all about the songs and there is very little of the acting – in the proper sense – you would expect from a musical. It does of course allow Judas to hang himself with his microphone cable! Then again, the villains of the piece, high priests Caiaphas and Annas, twirl their mic stands like members of a boy tribute band.
It is the tone of show that bothered me the most: I was not expecting over-reverence in any way but after Tim Sheader’s direction meanders along during the first half, the occasional moments of high camp reach their zenith in the depiction of Herod, a role which apparently ‘has been co-opted by the queer community’. Herod comes on in extravagant make-up and a gold silk cape and performs like the Emcee from Cabaret. Yes, there are some memorable moments such as Judas’s hands getting – rather Lady Macbeth-like – stained with silver and the ‘recreation’ of Leonard da Vinci’s The Last Supper. However, the final moments as we see the Jesus’s suffering seem to come from something else entirely; it is bloody, brutal and thoroughly unpleasant with at one point the bloodthirsty mob who are celebrating his flogging – the lashings thankfully are only gold glitter – jiggling around as if at a revivalist meeting. When it all ends – as it must – with the crucifixion it appears to be on a stand from a loudspeaker! I am not suggesting Monty Python’s ‘Always Look on the Bright Side of Life’ is what we needed here but I certain found the voyeuristic brutality unnecessary.
Sheader delivers all the themes of ‘the greatest story ever told’ – including deceitfulness, betrayal, denial, sacrifice and redemption – as a musical Passion Play which is reaching new audiences in a new context suitable for the twenty-first century. How successful he has been in this is for every individual who watches his reworking to consider for themselves. I have made my feelings known and it was clear others might not have enjoyed it either since several people failed to return to their Cliffs Pavilion seats after the interval.
On the plus side the band really rocks – though I am not sure how much of the music we now hear is as it was first conceived by Andrew Lloyd Webber – and the youthful ensemble is gifted and tireless given all the rushing around and singing they do. The demands on the voices of the leading singers are huge: Ian McIntosh more than meets the challenge of portraying Jesus, here more rock star than Messiah in stage presence. Shem Omari James is the treacherous Judas and he has a powerful voice but I struggled to hear his words and this diminished his role as the arbiter of Jesus’s downfall. Hannah Richardson was excellent as Mary with her reflective solo ‘I Don’t Know How to Love Him’ being one of my vocal highlights of the evening along with McIntosh’s ‘Gethsemane’. Ryan O’Donnell was a truly despicable – in a panto sense – Pilate. He was another of the cast to play an instrument onstage and accompanied himself on guitar during ‘Pilate’s Dream’. Jad Habchi and Darius J James as Caiaphas and Annas caught the ear and some of Habchi’s notes, particularly, were the deepest I have ever heard. In its own way Timo Tazber’s song and dance as Herod was a tour de force even if it was misconceived.
Jim Pritchard
Featured Image: Hannah Richardson (Mary) and Ian McIntosh (Jesus) in Jesus Christ Superstar © Paul Coltas
Creatives:
Lyrics – Tim Rice
Music – Andrew Lloyd Webber
Director – Timothy Sheader
Choreography – Drew McOnie
Designer – Tom Scutt
Musical supervisor – Tom Deering
Lighting designer – Lee Curran
Sound designer – Nick Lidster for Autograph
Cast included:
Jesus – Ian McIntosh
Judas – Shem Omari James
Herod – Timo Tazber
Mary – Hannah Richardson
Pilate – Ryan O’Donnell
Caiaphas – Jad Habachi
Annas – Darius J James