Jesus Christ Superstar... Do you think you're what they say you are?

So here goes my mini review for Jesus Christ Superstar tour that I saw at the Cardiff International Arena on Tuesday 2nd of October 2012.

If you don't want to know, please don't read. Otherwise, join me on my journey through reviewdom...

To start with, the concept behind an update to Jesus Christ Superstar (the famously 70s musical) left me slightly sceptical... However it really works on stage, with news reports (think the beginning of the Baz Luhrmann version of Romeo + Juliet), Tweets and news reporters covering the buzz around the Messiah. The set is basic - moving steps and projections to add to the feel of it. The show begins with the disciples versus the police in a London Riots-esque scene and follows a similarly grungy feel throughout (aside from the house where judge Pontius Pilate resides and King Herod's television studio).

Tim Minchin as Judas is obviously the star of the night, with no question. His Judas Iscariot is an angsty, slightly unhinged character whose journey to his own demise is a fascinating one to watch. His vocal is strong and consistent, who arrives into the heart of the action in an anorak, carrying a backpack. The stunning revival into "Superstar" works immensely well as he gets down with the angels in the hotpants who ask the thorn-crowned Jesus "who are you, what have you sacrificed?"

Mel C (aka Sporty Spice to anyone of a particular age) is a beautiful Mary Magdalene, with a soft vocal that really works for the part of the vulnerable follower of Jesus. She doesn't overplay the part at all, but her rendition of the famous I Don't Know How To Love Him was one of "those" moments in the show. A difficult and well-known song done wonderfully by the former Spice Girl.

Chris Moyles in his cameo as King Herod (who is played in the style of a Jeremy Kyle/Jerry Springer chat show host) is very comical, which is what the role calls for. Tuneful and camp, Moyles really gets his teeth into the part as much as you can in roughly three-minutes of stage and song time. The "public vote" results of LORD OR FRAUD revealed that Jesus had fallen out of the favour of the general viewing public, much to my amusement.

All the supporting roles are sung fantastically by Alex Hanson as a Hoff-alike Pilate (except talented), Pete Gallagher and Gerard Bentall as councillors Caiaphas and Annas (respectively) and apostles Peter and Simon played by Michael Pickering and Giovanni Spano. I particularly liked Pilate's entrance in Act 2 before Jesus is sent to Herod - he enters in sports gear, followed by a personal trainer and exercises (gently) throughout the number, unsure of why someone from Galilee (because I know where that is) has been brought to him for trial.

However, my only disappointment was Ben Forster in the role of Jesus Christ. From the beginning, Ben is tired and has the expression of exhaustion on his face (where I imagine that the Jesus at the start of the show still has some optimism about the journey ahead). His talk-miming during Tim Minchin's opening number Heaven On Their Minds is very distracting, like a small child in a bad school production. His accent is an annoying muddle of various American ones - he's clearly been on YouTube looking at the Broadway revival version for tips and watching the Ted Neely film version in bed every night before sleep. He's got a long way to go yet. The role is too crucial to have been cast brilliantly from a public vote TV show - sorry Lord Lloyd Webber. Considering he is literally in the title role, Ben barely registered on my "Superstar" radar. Perhaps with enough training he could be a great performer, but I left feeling unsatisfied with his performance.

Christ's death was particularly weak during the Crucifixion scene, especially when Tim Minchin rocked out during Superstar just before it. If I wasn't overly-familiar with the show I wouldn't have been too sure of what was happening at that point - not ONLY at that point, but at various other points too as Ben's annunciation wasn't great. Maybe this was a result of the crazy American accent?

Overall, the show is a fantastic one. For everyone who didn't make it to a nearby arena (especially at those prices) the good news is that you can ask Santa very nicely if he'll bring you the DVD on Christmas Day. I also purchased a hoody and programme, but not a CD (because it's only a digital remaster of the original, not of the tour version which is also out in time for the Festive period). The modern take really works and it was a night I'm not going to forget in a hurry.