David Thaxton, Desmonda Cathabel, Sam Ryder (photo by Jack Robinson) and Tyrone Huntley, headshots supplied by the production
More names have joined The London Palladium run of Jesus Christ Superstar.
Slated for a limited season this summer, the show tells the story of the final weeks of Jesus’s life, focusing on his relationship with Judas Iscariot and the political and emotional tensions surrounding his crucifixion.
The show premiered on Broadway in 1971, with a West End premiere the following year. It was last seen in London at the Barbican Theatre in 2019, with a regional tour in 2024 and a recent actor-musician revival at the Watermill Theatre in Newbury.
Set to star will be Sam Ryder, making his official West End debut in the role of Jesus. Joining him and revealed today are Tyrone Huntley, playing Judas, Desmonda Cathabel playing Mary and David Thaxton as Pilate. Huntley and Thaxton previously starred in the open-air production of the show in Regent’s Park in 2016.
Sharing the role of Herod will be six performers across the run – Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Simon Russell Beale, Richard Armitage, Boy George, Layton Williams and Julian Clary.
Tim Sheader will direct the show. The creative team also includes choreographer Drew McOnie, designer Tom Scutt, musical supervisor Tom Deering (Standing at the Sky’s Edge), lighting designer Lee Curran (A Streetcar Named Desire), sound designer Adam Fisher (Sunset Boulevard), fight director Kate Waters (Othello) and casting by Grindrod Burton Casting.
The original London production ran for over eight years from 1972. By the time it closed, after 3,358 performances, it had become the longest-running musical in West End history at that time.
The show runs from 20 June to 5 September at The London Palladium.
