Jesus Christ Super Star

Gosford Musical Society is preparing to launch a bold and reimagined take on Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's Jesus Christ Superstar this October and November. In what promises to be one of the Society's most ambitious productions to date, director Scott Russell—best known locally for his work on Sweeney Todd with The Attic—shared his provocative vision in a recent public information night that left both curiosity and concern lingering in the air.

Russell opened his presentation with a self-aware nod to the night's technical stumbles—an oddly fitting start to a show promising heavy use of tech. Despite some hiccups with the live stream and in-room projections, he pressed forward with an outline of a production that departs dramatically from tradition.

In Russell's hands, Superstar becomes a metaphor not only for the rise and fall of a messianic figure, but also for the high-stakes world of tech start-ups. Drawing parallels between Jesus and Judas and the fractured friendships of Silicon Valley legends like Jobs and Wozniak or Zuckerberg and Saverin, Russell has shifted the biblical narrative into a world of turtlenecks, boardroom betrayals, and corporate ambition. Mary Magdalene is recast as a composed marketing executive—someone navigating a “toxic male environment” with clarity and calculated grace. Herod as an old-media type, "Alan Jones shock jock" has Chris King written all over it.

This framing challenges long-held assumptions about the show. Russell pointedly observed that a robe-and-sandal aesthetic in 2025 carries “controversial” undertones given current global affairs. His response: a stylised, tech-driven universe designed to provoke thought and conversation without reinforcing outdated visual tropes.

In support of this concept, Media Director Dean Russell (Scott's brother) introduced an "experimental" multimedia approach where cast members will operate handheld cameras throughout the show. These live feeds will be projected in real-time onto large screens, capturing intimate moments up close for the audience. While technically daring, this concept raises an important question: will the actors remember to play to the audience in the room, or be seduced by the lens?

This contrasts starkly with the more traditional approach Jesus Christ Superstar is known for—grand, sweeping ensemble numbers, dramatic lighting, and symbolic costuming. The classic productions rely on the raw emotion of the score and the immediacy of live performance to draw the audience into a timeless, spiritual conflict. It's theatre as ritual—communicating passion, betrayal, and sacrifice through human connection and the physicality of the stage.

By contrast, Russell's production promises to be theatre as simulation—layered with media, slick with modern metaphors, and ever conscious of its audience's cultural touchstones. Whether this update enhances or distracts from the operatic tension at the show's core remains to be seen.

There's no doubt that this Superstar will be one to talk about. With tickets on sale soon, those keen on risk-taking, contemporary reinterpretations will likely be queuing early. For the purists, this might be a departure too far from the dusty hills of Jerusalem. But in the spirit of the original rock opera's rebellious heart, perhaps that's exactly the point.