The six performers revealed today
Further casting has been revealed for 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, while sharing the role of Herod (and the “very fun plans” we alluded to in our announcement story) will be six performers across the run – Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Simon Russell Beale, Richard Armitage, Boy George, Layton Williams and Julian Clary.
Further casting for Tim Sheader’s Palladium staging will be revealed in due course. Sheader explained the move today, saying: “All different but all fabulous, we are thrilled that these six artists will take a turn demanding Jesus walk across their swimming pool as the infamously camp but lethal King Herod. Choose to see any one of them and we promise, for a golden moment, they will stop this juggernaut of a show in its glitter filled tracks.”
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 BAFTA Award-winning casting director David Grindrod for 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.
Ferguson will kick off the Herod shifts, performing from 20 June to 11 July, with Beale from 13 to 25 July, Armitage from 27 July to 1 August, George from 3 to 15 August (save 8 August), Williams from 17 to 29 August and Clary from 31 August to 5 September.
The show runs from 20 June to 5 September at The London Palladium.
