The 2016 Olivier Award-winning production by Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre, of Lloyd-Webber-Rice’s 1971 sung-through rock opera, is back (again) and this time on tour across the UK. Does it lose some punch, squeezed down from the open-air staging into a traditional theatre? Yes. Does the production suffer from casting singers rather than actors? Yes. Is the actual musical kind of dated and doesn’t really make sense in 2024? Yes. Does it still get an immediate, screaming, standing ovation? Yes.

There’s no denying that the vocal chops on this cast is absolutely sensational. An infamously demanding score, with multiple insane high notes, sounds effortless from the central duo of Jesus (Ian Macintosh) vs Judas (Sham Omari James). Mary Magdalene (Hannah Richardson) stands out for her sultry, emotional voice, a lullaby to the frenzied male vocals.

The show seems to come alive when members of the cast play instruments, like when Pilate (Ryan O’Donnell) plays guitar in “Pilate’s Dream”, or when Annas (Matt Bateman) joins in on orchestral cymbals for “Trial by Pilate”. The choice to have singers hold microphones effectively conveys the idea that the entire story is one big rock concert, but a full actor-musician treatment could be a lot more effective than the sort of halfway house we get here.

Choreography (Drew McOnie) is high-energy and cleverly symbolic, but treats the ensemble like a faceless mass of unthinking automatons in their mindless pursuit of Jesus (both adoring and crucifying). It lowers the stakes of the story on stage, and it’s also untrue to the diversity of how Jesus’ followers are portrayed in the New Testament.

Jesus Christ Superstar is touring the UK 11 September 2023 to 17 August 2024.