School’s version of Christ drama rocked the stage
Glenalmond College staged its school production of Jesus Christ Superstar for one night only at Perth Concert Hall.
It was an ambitious move given the size of the venue. Would it sell seats beyond the obligatory parents? Would the student production of the classic musical be any good?
Actually, there was not one unsold seat in the house, and the performance was an assured mix of practice, professionalism and precision.
Clearly, the cast had studied the recent arena tour of the piece and it took the best elements of this update on the original movie version.
It used the imagery of climate change protest camps, with their lurid pop-up tents and scaffolding encased the wings, giving lots of levels to move between.
An army of unseen musicians made it possible to enjoy the full orchestration of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s stirring music.
The sound from the pit was note perfect and the rock guitar solos by Angus Grierson and Conor Smith were clear, evocative moments in theatre.
The story of Jesus and his betrayal by Judas looked right in the hands of young people, they had the energy and passion of activists compelled to face injustice and believe in the dream of a better future.
The action was brought up-todate with a whole lot of selfietaking activity and the stage had a backdrop of constantly changing projected news posts: ‘False Messiah Arrested’ flashed one rolling news caption.
Imagery of armed police and petrol bombs from 21st century Jerusalem confirmed this A poetry panel from the Corbenic Poetry Path near Dunkeld and (inset left) poet Jon Plunkett was Jesus Christ Superstar for media consumers, bloggers and Instagram addicts.
The surprise of the Glenalmond production was that Judas was played by a female.
Bold, brave and believable, Molly Ridley took on the complex role brilliantly.
Ryan Bromilow as Jesus in a school production of Jesus Christ Superstar
Molly was so much better than any sixth-former could have been expected to be and she possessed a remarkable singing voice.
Her portrayal of Judas in Doc Martens brought all the moody conflict and tortured conscience of the apostle traitor who led the guards to Christ in Gethsemane.
Jesus, played by Ryan Bromilow, was a compelling figurehead, but also a person capable of doubt who needed Mary to soothe his fears.
This was clearly God made human, a young man on a journey into the unknown.
Ryan was an expressive singer. His acting was good and he pulled off the difficult depiction of the captive Christ’s flogging and crucifixion fantastically.
When it came to that other, earthly king, Herod, there was plenty of the requisite spoiled arrogance in Fergus Baker’s portrayal of the scathing monarch.
The audience loved his Gatsby-styled high energy routine in tennis whites surrounded by an entourage of Jazz Age girlfriends with beaded headbands and fringed dresses.
The high priest’s henchman Annas had another female acting a traditionally male role. Alex Milne looked severe and officious and gave a strong performance in This Jesus Must Die.
Pontious Pilate, appearing here as a fighter pilot commander, was a novel way to express the role of the young governor of Judea. Harri Rowley did it well as he took the character through his trial of Jesus.
So the evening was a success, a triumph for the cast, its sizeable ensemble, the musicians and the highly proficient production team. High drama of a high standard.