Jesus Christ Superstar (A), April 1979

JESUS CHRIST, SUPERSTAR (A)  (USA, 1973; director Norman Jewison)

TED NEELY, CARL ANDERSON, YVONNE ELLIMAN.   The famous rock-opera recording which spawned a Broadway production is turned into an ambitious but, in the final analysis, unsuccessful movie.  The story of Jesus, told in musical terms, was filmed on location in Israel, and director NORMAN JEWISON cleverly used the device of having a troupe of actors arriving by bus on the desert location to film the biblical play within the play.  Those familiar with the score will probably be more tolerant of the song-saga of Jesus at the mercy of the Romans, but don’t expect Cecil B. De Mille.  There are sprinklings of anti-war statements made by Jewison’s use of jet fighters and tanks chasing Judas during his big production number.  The cast performs ably, and the film comes off as an interesting curiosity.

PLUS: SHORT

Tickets for all performances 70p and 90p

For performance dates and times please see programme diary