11 Apr 2013
Interesting! Once again it feels like the entire audience are committed fans who have seen the show fifty times, as everyone is falling about laughing/cheering before the lights have come up. Personally, I thought the production and cast were fantastic – one of the best West End casts I’ve seen for a long time. Boy, do these actors work hard and it’s a joy to see such unbridled commitment from such talented individuals. The set, lighting, choreography, sound are all terrific. But the production itself is really a one joke show. Having never taken the story of Jesus very seriously, I can’t say I was scandalised or found it hilarious to see the Mormon’s belief’s satirised: all religion seems fairly bizarre to me now. And I just couldn’t help feeling uncomfortable in the way the Africans in the story are portrayed. There are some good jokes and fun scenes, but not in a million years would I have guessed this pretty thin material could have become one of the biggest hits of modern times. Which just goes to show how little I know! Hats off to a great cast who give it everything they’ve got.