I’ve just finished playing Jesus in Jesus Christ Superstar for the Auckland Theatre Company. During the season I was whipped approximately 1976 times. I say approximately as occasionally one of the whippers would slip on some dry-ice residue and miss me completely. This always made my day as those whips bloody hurt! Note: During the season I have been asked “Did those whips hurt?” approximately 97 times (but who’s counting).
Jesus Christ Superstar was a dream job for me and I would have been more than happy playing Apostle number 13 (if only he had existed), but luckily for me I ended up playing the big fella himself, which was a huge and very fulfilling challenge. I only hope I get to play the role again someday – 56 performances just wasn’t enough.
Photo by Greg Bowker
One of the reasons I was so keen to take any part in this production was that in recent years I have seen similar shows in New Zealand that broke all the rules. I thought they were incredibly edgy and I desperately wanted to be a part of them. My hope was that JCS would also be one of these productions – and it didn’t disappoint. New Zealand is isolated from much of the world and as a result I think it’s considered an underdog when it comes to theatre. However, my theory is that this isolation gifts NZ theatre makers with the freedom to push boundaries to their limits and make brave decisions that may not have been possible in a more commercial market.
Although I’m not in a position to give an unbiased opinion about JC Superstar, I can safely say that it was the most untraditional production of this show that I’ve seen and at times I felt like I was in some graphic and gritty Tarantino film. What excited me about this is that it made me look at the show in a completely new way. This is due to the creative team and the vision of Oliver Driver, whose perspective and direction has been influenced by a hatred of those cheesy musicals that have given musical theatre a bad name. I tried to explain to Oliver that not all musicals are cheesy, but I’m not sure he believed me. In future I will use his own production against him to win my argument. Leon Radojkovic’s take on Andrew Lloyd Webbers score was a work of genius. He managed to turn a 44 year old score into something that sounded like it was written this year. It was so current it made my brain hurt.
While it isn’t my intension to review my own show, it is my intension to give credit where credit is due. There were over 40 people working on this production. I witness some amazingly talented singers conquer one of musical theatres most challenging scores. Finally one of the main things that made this production a joy to work on was that they were one of the most drama free groups of people I’ve had the pleasure of working with – not an ego in sight. Congratulations to the Auckland Theatre Company also to New Zealand – you are definitely doing something right! Until next time,
Kristian xxx
PS: I’ve been asked about Cookiegate approximately 485 times and I have a feeling I may be asked about it for years to come. (Note: Apologies to those not familiar with Cookiegate! It’s regarding a not very well kept secret where I had a awful reaction to some food that was sent as a gift to me on opening night. Luckily I have a strong constitution!)
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