Regent’s Park Open Air theatre to reopen with Jesus Christ Superstar
Regent’s Park Open Air theatre in London is to reopen next month for a concert version of Jesus Christ Superstar. The venue, which announced in May that it was postponing its entire summer season to 2021, is the first major London venue to announce the return of live theatre. Last week, it welcomed the government’s announcement that outdoor productions could resume and said it was looking for an economic way to open for a shorter period than usual this summer.
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The venue will host audiences of up to 390 (which is 30% of its usual capacity) for a six-week run of Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s classic musical, opening on 14 August. Performers will be socially distanced, the performance will run without an interval and there will be one-way systems in place. Other safety measures include mandatory face coverings, temperature checks and paperless ticketing. The theatre had a hit with Jesus Christ Superstar in 2016, a version staged by its artistic director Timothy Sheader that was later produced indoors at the Barbican.
Sheader said: “It has been, and continues to be, an incredibly challenging time for everyone working in the theatre industry. While 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.”
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He added that a clear timeframe for the reopening of the rest of the industry, together with the safe removal of social distancing measures in all venues, “remains critical to secure the future of the arts in the UK”.
Regent’s Park Open Air theatre is also set to host comedy performances during the summer from standups including Rob Beckett, Russell Brand, Jimmy Carr, Kerry Godliman, Suzi Ruffell and Sindhu Vee.
After last week’s government announcement, the Minack in Cornwall became one of the first venues to announce a new programme of work for the summer. A number of drive-in theatre performances are also taking place, including for the hit musical Six and the children’s show Horrible Histories. London’s Donmar Warehouse is also to reopen in August with a sound installation of Blindness, based on José Saramago’s novel, featuring the recorded voice of Juliet Stevenson.
