Live theatre, rocks

Tonight I was referred to as both an old fart and terribly negative and so, to combat these comments, I present the following:

The things I loved about Jesus Christ Superstar at the O2 Arena
Tim Minchin as Judas. He was brilliant. I thought he shone throughout. I have read that it’s a part he has always wanted to play and he played it with great skill and finesse. I’ve never seen him live (but love his work) and, if for nothing else, I’m so glad that this production gave me the opportunity.

Mel C as Mary Magdelene. Good old Sporty Spice. She gave Mary a modern edge that was both baffled and supportive. She was never too much and yet was strong on stage. Mirinda thought she may have missed a few notes but, if she did, I missed them as well. I loved her performance, especially at the end of the curtain calls when she was reluctant to leave the stage, her energy still flowing forth. Superb.

Rory Taylor as Simon Zealotes. He suddenly appeared, Che Guevara like, baseball bat in hand, ready to fight for the cause. He was electric and thoroughly convincing. I truly believed that had Jesus told him to go and fight, he would have done so willingly and beaten anyone who stood in his way. It’s such a small role but he made it huge.

Cavin Cornwall as the evil Caiaphas. Superb. So evil, I really liked him. I found myself siding with the bad guys. Cavin has an enormous amount of charisma and an amazing voice. His sidekick, Gerard Bentall (Annas) was a delight as well.

The restaging of it into the modern day was excellent, though it did take away the original intent somewhat. Still, the fight against capitalism, taken up by the followers of Jesus was beautifully staged. The use of multi-media helped swell the numbers on stage and made everything more instant. The mass communication, predicted by Judas, was very effective.

The staging of the Herod scene I thoroughly enjoyed. It would have been an absolute delight with a good Herod. It was the perfect platform for a showman with panache and a dab hand at viewer-led television.

The use of Apple products. I noticed during the scene when the ‘bankers’ (originally priests) were singing around the table, that the laptop on the table of the evil capitalists was an Apple – the camera picked the logo out beautifully and broadcast it on the massive screen at the back of the stage. This could surely not be a coincidence or happy accident. Naturally I loved this.

The whole multi-media thing was brilliant. It sometimes brought the audience (and there was an awful lot of us) closer to the characters. So close we could see their throbbing veins and sweating pores. Other times it was used to show slogans, tweets, Facebook updates and blood, splattered from the whip used on Jesus’ back.

And, finally, I loved Tim Rice at the end, after the curtain calls when he said, and I’m probably misquoting him…”I have only one person to thank for being here. Well, actually, two people. One is my driver who’s waiting for me outside. The other is standing beside me. Andrew Lloyd Webber.” A delightfully funny man.

So. That was what I loved about Jesus Christ Superstar at the O2 Arena.

A bit of the audience

I will only add that I saw the original production in Sydney when I was about 16 years old. I loved it so much, I saw it about 20 times. I knew all the songs by heart. I couldn’t get enough of it. I saw Jon English as Judas and Reg Livermore as Herod.

It was also the first live show I ever saw and, I think, is probably the reason why I love live theatre so much. It taught me how instantly the audience’s emotions can be manipulated by both music and singing. It taught me how subtlety can be used alongside power and glory to produce an extraordinary effect. It started my love affair with the stage; a love affair that will never end.

For that, I sincerely thank Messrs Rice and Webber.