Jesus Christ Superstar at the Open Air to offer live relay of performances

The concert production at Regent's Park Open Air Theatre will reach 5,000 additional theatregoers using live screen relay technology.

Even though the audience will be socially distanced at Regent's Park Open Air Theatre, more people will be able to experience Jesus Christ Superstar: The Concert thanks to live screen relay technology, which will allow each performance to be screened to theatregoers on the venue's lawn. The production begins performances on 14 August, and lawn seating tickets will initially be available for performances 19-30 August. 

"With the support of everyone involved, we are delighted to have found a way to enable an extended audience to experience live theatre this summer," the venue's executive director William Village said in a statement. "Government guidance has required us to reduce the capacity of our auditorium by over two-thirds. For an unfunded theatre, this makes financing the ambitious, award-winning, large-scale musical reinventions for which we are known almost impossible. The live relay will help us attempt to make this revival economically viable, but innovative add-ons such as these are not a panacea for the industry. The future of theatre across the country and the livelihoods of our world-class creative talent and workforce remain in serious peril. Theatres urgently need to be allowed to open safely at full capacity as other industries have begun to, so that we can fully play our part in the nation's economic and social recovery."

The lawn will be separated into 1.2msq areas for each individual to comply with social distancing guidelines, and all tickets will be £20 and unreserved. Blue-i Theatre Technology Ltd. will supply high definition cameras to capture the performance for an LED screen on the lawn. Live relay will be available at both matinee and evening performances. 

The concert production of Jesus Christ Superstar unites the casts from the original Regent's Park run, as well as the company of last year's production at the Barbican Centre. The leading roles will be shared, and the production is directed by the Open Air's artistic director Timothy Sheader.