Regent's Park Open Air Theatre is first in London to bring back live performance, with Jesus Christ Superstar concert run

Sing Hosanna! The Regent's Park Open Air Theatre is the first London theatre to bring back live performances
Zoe Paskett15 July 2020

Hallelujah! A concert version of Jesus Christ Superstar is set to run at the Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre this summer, making it the first London theatre to welcome back audiences with live shows.

A special staging of the award-winning production, which had two sold-out runs at the Open Air Theatre and transferred to the Barbican Theatre, will be performed to socially distanced audiences from August 14 for six weeks.

Director Timothy Sheader’s production of Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s rock opera won the Evening Standard Theatre Award for best musical in 2016, with the original Judas – Tyrone Huntley – picking up the emerging talent award. The cast for this concert run are yet to be announced.

The Standard's review of the musical's most recent outing at the Barbican called the show "so fun that even atheists will enjoy it".

The audiences will be reduced to 390 seats, 30 per cent of the venue’s full capacity, with new safety protocols such as compulsory masks, temperature checks and cashless systems introduced. The show will run for 90 minutes with no interval.

Outdoor, socially distanced performances have been permitted to take place since last weekend.

Sheader, the theatre’s artistic director, said: “It has been, and continues to be, an incredibly challenging time for everyone working in the theatre industry. Whilst the arts sector awaits details of how the government’s support package will be disseminated, I’m heartened that we have been able to start work again with a number of our colleagues and to employ over 140 people including 70 performers and freelancers, at least for a brief period this summer.

“However, a clear and specific timeframe for the reopening of the rest of our industry, together with the complete and safe removal of social distancing measures in all venues, remains critical to secure the future of the arts in the UK.”

A series of comedy shows has also been announced to run each Monday. Russell Brand, Jimmy Carr, Kerry Godliman are among stars to perform, as well as a fundraiser for London’s foodbanks with Suzi Ruffell, Sindhu Vee and more, an improvised show by Mischief Theatre, the company behind The Play That Goes Wrong.

Jesus Christ Superstar will run from August 14-September 27, with tickets going on sale at 11am on Tuesday July 21.

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