Ivo Van Hove directs Jesus Christ Superstar-Netherlands 2024

Video cameras, box set, probably bare feet…

Shame it isn't running in rep with Robert Icke's Judas.

You just KNOW Judas is going to have a Go Pro strapped to him.

The programme notes will explain how clever this is.

He has to be the most predictable director ever.

I doubt even if he really tried he could make it any worse than that soulless, pretentious, X-Factor Battle Round mess that disgraced the Barbican a few years back.

Jeangu Macrooy is an excellent musician also, would be very interested to see his performance.

Translation 

Threads merged.

I think the theatres aren't prepared for this. The website (https://www.jesuschristsuperstar.nl/) says, you need to book them on the theatre's website, where you want to see the show.

So if you want to see it in Amsterdam, you need to be here:
delamar.nl/en/shows/jesus-christ-superstar/

they don't mention the super seats at all.

My theatre in Heerlen mentions them:

www.plt.nl/programma/jesus-christ-superstar-jeangu-macrooy-freek-bartels-magtel-de-laat-e.a/11-05-2024-15-00

with instructions how to book: 


Klik op "Bestel"

Kies hoeveel kaarten u wilt bestellen

Kies "best beschikbare plaatsen"

Kies de rang "Plaats"

Standaard staat deze op de beste plaatsen "Super Seat 1", maar u kunt uw plaats aanpassen naar de lagere categorie "Super Seat 2"

Kies "plaats in winkelwagen" & klik op "Afrekenen"

Let op: u krijgt ter plekke een Super Seat-zitplaats op het podium toegewezen in uw prijscategorie. We proberen groepjes bij elkaar te plaatsen, maar kunnen dit niet garanderen.

The last bit is interesting: They will only allocate your exact seat on arrival. 

I see this is in English.

Since going to see Starlight in Bochum earlier this year, I've now got the bug for seeing shows in other languages! As this is a show I know well, so should be able to follow in another language, and Amsterdam is one of the few places I can fly to from my little local airport, I would have been intrigued by this if it was in Dutch.

Just came back from Superstar in Amsterdam. Unfortunately the matinee performance was cancelled due to cast illness and the evening show saw an understudy take on the role of Jesus. Vocally he wasn’t up to the challenge sadly.

Understudy aside, the show as a whole is somewhat disappointing and I cant understand the hype surrounding Ivo van Hove?

The “on the stage” seating is very much a gimmick with those on stage staring at the backs of performers during many key sequences.

There is no stage set at all and no innovative / bold additions when it comes to directorial choices. Unlike in Sunset - the non-existent stage set gives the feel of budget more than anything else. The final sequence of the cast smearing themselves with buckets of blood is somewhat gratuitous and feels horribly forced.

The Regents Park version is immensely superior.

Made the trip out from the UK yesterday to see this as my mum is a superfan of Jesus Christ Superstar. This production has been given 5* by all the main Dutch publications and Whatsonstage over here so wanted to check it out. This is going to be a really long, spoiler filled report as I've not seen one online anywhere and I think this production will have life outside of the Netherlands.

Firstly, we sat in the "Superseat" section of the theatre which are seats around the back of the stage. These seats are allocated in a first come basis by the theatre staff. The production is technically in the round but there wasn't a lot of action directed towards the back. Despite this, it's always great to be so near a live performance and we got "involved" with last supper scene where real wine was handed to the audience. For the best overview of the production, I would recommend the regular seating as you do feel like secondhand citizens up here.

As for the production, there are some incredible ideas here but it doesn't quite come together for me. Amazing images such as the money in the Temple scene being blown by a storm of smoke or the crucifixion in a mist of water were fantastic. But these moments are quite disjointed and I feels like some scenes have been thought about more than others.

The approach to the material was very fresh in places. Here it feels Jesus has let his success overtake him and is almost going through a mental breakdown because of it. That leads to Mary's "I Don't Know How to Love Him" being more about a woman asking how her relationship survives his crisis when she is the one holding them both together. Thumbs up!

Caiaphas played by the incredible Richard Spijkers is not a pantomime villain here but he is petrified about what Jesus could do which motivates his actions perfectly. Meanwhile, Herod is a psychopath and is the most brutal character. He actively mutilates Jesus during his song, waterboards him and cuts out his flesh. For a character that normally stands around and does a little dance, this take worked for me.

It's doesn't all work however. This production focuses on Jesus verses the crowd. How can people collectively love a celebrity and then turn and hate them. However, Superstar is really Judas' story about his part in the downfall of Jesus. Judas was sadly sidelined here and frankly an afterthought both in direction and performance. Equally strange was the point when Judas sees Jesus after he has been beaten. At this point a loud Cockerel sound effect rang out. I still haven't worked out why.

As for cast: Eurovision star Jeangu Macrooy did well as Jesus. I thought he would struggle to get to the high notes after some dodgy ones early on but he warmed up and used every bit of energy in him to get there for Gethsemane. Magtel de Laat gave a solid performance as Mary with a lovely voice and the audience adored her.

However, my absolute favourite performance was from Edwin Jonker as Pilate. Pilate is often overlooked in casting for this show which is wrong because he is so critical to the second half. This is the best I've ever seen the role both acted and sung. It was effortless and a joy to watch.

Overall, I think this was a 4 star production with 5 star ideas. It often fell flat but when it hit, it really hit. I certainly expect this to do at least a European tour.