š Jesus Christ Superstar
šĀ Princess Theatre, Torbay Road, Torquay, Devon, TQ2 5EZĀ Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā
š Tuesday 16 July 2024
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AN UNINSPIRING DISAPPOINTMENT
Filled with timeless musical theatre classics this new production of JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR is playing all this week at the Princess Theatre in Torquay and I was invited along to watch the performance last night.
This production has been touring since last year and I was excited to finally get to see it, although unfortunately I left feeling underwhelmed and disappointed. I felt the entire show was completely void of any emotion and I became disengaged rather quickly.
The direction seemed to give a nonchalance and casualness to the proceeding which quite frankly felt weird and meant that I didn't care about any of the characters. It was difficult to actually hear any of the vocals clearly which meant that because this is a show that is sung throughout I genuinely had no idea what was going on. I could tell that some of the vocals were good but I just couldn't understand what was being sung. I know I wasn't the only person that felt this way. It was hard to tell if this was issues with diction or sound engineering but it definitely had an impact on my enjoyment of the show.
Also the transitions between each song felt clunky and it was as if the producers couldn't decide whether to stage the production as a musical or a concert and so ended up with a strange mashup of the two. Maybe this is one of the reasons why I felt there was no emotion.
Concert versions of musicals can work extremely well and had they gone down this route fully then maybe it would have felt different and been more engaging.
I also found the choreography lazy and lacklustre and as this production is nearing the end of the tour I would have expected the execution of it to have been a lot tighter than it was. I understand that there were some constraints for the production in this venue due to the sheer size of the set but it just looked sloppy.
What I did absolutely love about this production was the set and lighting designs. The set was powerful and industrial and served its purpose well. It didn't change at all throughout the show but its solidarity was breathtaking to see and when married with the incredible lighting design worked tremendously well.
Although I could't follow the story or hear the words clearly, there were some extraordinary vocal performances throughout. Hannah Richardson stole the show with her glorious rendition of I Don't Know How To Love Him. You could have heard a pin drop in the auditorium as the entire audience bathed in the beauty of her incredible vocals.
Timo Tatzber was a breath of fresh air and was gloriously camp as Herod, giving my favourite performance of the night. It would have been great to have seen more of him. The ensemble were absolutely great too with standout performances from Jordan Michael Todd as Simon and Matt Bateman as Annas alongside Francis Foreman and Christopher Tendai.
Unfortunately I felt that the roles of Judas and Jesus had been miscast as for me neither had the vocal ability required for their respective roles. Ian McIntosh as Jesus did show promise towards the end of Gethsemane and had he been directed to sing at that level throughout then maybe I would have enjoyed his performance more. He definitely had a good voice but as with a lot of the production his performance was just far too laid back.
Shem Omari James though sadly had completely the wrong voice for his role, almost sounding like a caricature of an 80s rock singer. Again if the production had presented his part in a different way and he had been allowed to sing in a more natural voice for him then it could have worked.
Overall JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR has been one of my biggest disappointments of the year, and this was my 85th theatre visit of 2024! I can understand why the album was such a hit when it was first released, and the soundtrack is excellent, but the show itself doesn't explain itself well and simply doesn't engage its audience in the story.
In every aspect of theatre the central story is the most crucial point and I was so disengaged with this production that I didn't even realise Judas had died in the show until this morning when I was looking through the song list!
I felt the production has tried too hard to be edgy and different but unfortunately borders on being pretentious and definitely wasn't for me. I cannot however deny some of the incredible talent on the stage, especially in the ensemble.
As ever, I urge you to make up your own mind and if you'd like to see JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR in Torquay you have until Saturday 20 July to do so. Click here for tickets.
Neill Kovacic-Clarke
All views are my own and I pride myself on being honest, fair and free from influence. Theatre is subjective and it is important to remember that all views expressed are just those of one reviewer. Ā
My ticket for this performance of Jesus Christ Superstar was gifted by the Princess Theatre who invited me to watch the show in exchange for my honest review. The fact that my ticket was gifted played no part in the content of my review or the star rating given.Ā
CAST LIST:
Ian McIntosh as Jesus; Shem Omari James as Judas; Hannah Richardson as Mary; Ryan O'Donnell as Pilate; Jad Habchi as Caiaphas; Matt Bateman as Annas; Jordan Michael Todd as Simon; Timo Tatzber as Herod; Joshua Hawkins as Peter
Ensemble / Swings: Jasmine Jules Andrews; Carla Bertran; Daniel Bowskill; Paje Campbell; Myla Carmen; Eloise Davies; Francis Foreman; Louise Francis; Darius J James; Cassandra Lee; Stephen Lewis-Johnston; Jago Mottart; Mia Musakambeva; Timothy Roberts; Esme Rothero; Christopher Tendai
RUNNING TIME (approx):
2 hours, including interval
CONTENT WARNINGS:
Depictions of beating and crucifixion
The Princess Theatre is part of ATG Entertainment and is situated on Torquayās beautiful seafront.
As South Devon's largest theatre with a seating capacity of 1,491 it is the perfect South West showcase for the very best West End and touring productions.
Fans of musical theatre can catch CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG, SISTER ACT, GHOST and HEATHERS at the venue later this year.
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