Regent's Park Open Air Theatre to open this summer with Jesus Christ Superstar The Concert
Preview by Lizzie Guilfoyle
REGENT’S Park Open Air Theatre will open this summer with a special concert staging of their production of Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Jesus Christ Superstar.
It will run for six weeks from Friday, August 14 to Sunday, September 27, 2020.
William Village, Executive Director said: “Following the government’s announcement last week that outdoor theatres may re-open, we have been working around the clock to find a way to open in August and September this year. With social distancing, seating capacity has been dramatically reduced to 390 seats (down from 1,256).
“This makes producing any large-scale show economically extremely challenging, particularly as we are an unfunded organisation. Nevertheless, both for us as a venue, and the industry as a whole, we believe it is incumbent upon us to do everything possible to re-open this year, and we’re delighted to announce this special concert staging of our award-winning production of Jesus Christ Superstar.
“Of course, the safety of our audience, performers and staff remains of paramount importance to us. We will follow government guidance meticulously; measures to be introduced at the entirely open air venue include: reduced capacity, distanced performers, enhanced cleaning, one-way systems, mandatory face coverings, temperature checks, paperless and cashless systems and multiple hand sanitiser stations.
“All information will be set out clearly on our website and communicated with audiences in advance of their arrival.”
Following two sell-out runs at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre (2016/2017), its original Olivier and Evening Standard Award-winning production of Jesus Christ Superstar played a season at the Lyric Opera of Chicago (2018), 60 dates at the Barbican Theatre (2019), and an ongoing hugely successful three year North American tour.
The creative team is: 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 (design); Timothy Sheader (director); Kate Waters (fight director) and Denzel Westley-Sanderson (co-director).
Full casting will be announced in due course.
Timothy Sheader, 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 re-opening 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.”
Jesus Christ Superstar: The Concert is produced by William Village and Timothy Sheader for Regent’s Park Theatre Ltd by special arrangement with The Really Useful Group Limited.
Priority booking opens at 11am on Monday, July 20, 2020, with public booking opening at 11am on Tuesday, July 21. Priority booking is for current members. Priority booking access can also be purchased for £15 at openairtheatre.com/priority.
A series of one-off MOREoutdoor Mondays will also play throughout the run with comedy from Rob Beckett, Russell Brand, Jimmy Carr, Kerry Godliman, Judi Love and Russell Kane. Mischief Theatre, the award-winning company behind hits such as The Play That Goes Wrong, present Mischief Movie Night, the improvised movie live on stage, and Berk’s Nest presents Canned Laughter, an all-star comedy fundraiser for London’s food banks, featuring Suzi Ruffell, Sindhu Vee, Olga Koch, Gabby Best and many more to be announced.
Priority booking opens at 11am on Wednesday, July 22, with public booking opening at 11am on Thursday, July 23.
To book tickets for any of the above, visit openairtheatre.com/ or where this isn’t possible call 0333 400 3562.
NB: Following the closure of UK theatres due to the coronavirus, all productions originally programmed for 2020 have been postponed to summer 2021. The newly commissioned musical 101 Dalmatians (May 15 – June 20) is based on Dodie Smith’s iconic story set in the heart of Regent’s Park, with book by Zinnie Harris and music and lyrics by Douglas Hodge. This is followed by Romeo and Juliet (June 26 – July 24), Shakespeare’s timeless story of two young people torn apart by a divided society and forbidden love, and Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Carousel (July 30 – September 18).
Also during the 2021 season, Nicoll Entertainment presents Dragons and Mythical Beasts (August 10 – September 5), a new 50-minute daytime show for ages 3+ written by Derek Bond.