Casting has been announced for the upcoming concert staging of Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre’s acclaimed production of Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s ‘Jesus Christ Superstar‘, which runs from 14 August to 27 September 2020.
As capacity for the 1,256 seat venue has been reduced to 390 to meet government guidance on social distancing, there will be 9 performances a week, across the 6-week run, to make the production economically viable. Therefore the roles of Jesus, Judas and Mary will be double-cast, giving audiences the opportunity to see any combination of actors as they alternate performances (a schedule will not be confirmed in advance to allow for flexibility).
Declan Bennett and Pepe Nufrio will share the role of Jesus, Tyrone Huntley and Ricardo Afonso will share the role of Judas, and Anoushka Lucas and Maimuna Memon will share the role of Mary, alongside David Thaxton (Pilate), Shaq Taylor (Herod), Ivan De Freitas (Caiaphas), Nathan Amzi (Annas), Phil King (Peter), Cedric Neal (Simon), and Genesis Lynea, Rosa O’Reilly, Elliotte Williams-N’Dure (Soul Singers).
Completing the cast are: Daniel Bailey, Dale Evans, Rosie Fletcher, Josh Hawkins, Stevie Hutchinson, Billy Nevers, Charlotte Riby, Tinovimbanashe Sibanda, Barnaby Thompson and Tara Young.
The creative team includes: Will Burton CDG and David Grindrod CDG (casting); Lee Curran (lighting design); Tom Deering (musical supervisor); Barbara Houseman (associate director, voice and text); Drew McOnie (choreography); Nick Lidster for Autograph (sound design); Tom Scutt (set design) after the set design for EVITA by Soutra Gilmour; Tom Scutt (costume design); Timothy Sheader (director); Kate Waters (fight director) and Denzel Westley-Sanderson (co-director).
Running for six weeks from Friday 14 August until Sunday 27 September 2020, evening performances on Tuesdays to Sundays will start at 7.30pm, with matinees on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays at 3pm. The venue will be open one hour before the concert. The running time is approximately 90 minutes with no interval.
