London’s upcoming West End revival of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice‘s Jesus Christ Superstar, set to play the London Palladium June 20-September 5, will follow up that run with an encore at Theatre Royal Drury Lane running October 16, 2026-January 9, 2027. And like the Palladium bow, the production has recruited a starry list of stage and screen favorites to play King Herod over the run, joining singer-songwriter and TikTok sensation Sam Ryder continuing in the title role.
Starring as King Herod during the Drury Lane run will be Matt Bomer (October 16-31), Rob Brydon (November 2-7), Reece Shearsmith (November 9-14), Bob the Drag Queen (November 16-21), Michael Ball (November 23-December 5), Simon Russell Beale (December 7-12), Omid Djalili (December 14-19), and Layton Williams (December 21, 2026-January 2, 2027). Beale and Williams will be reprising their performances from during the Palladium run, where the previously announced roster of Herods will also include Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Richard Armitage, Boy George, and Julian Clary.
Opening night at the Palladium will be July 7. Further casting is to be announced.
The revival will be a new mounting of director Sheader and choreographer Drew McOnie‘s 2016 production from Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre, which has become one of the most frequently mounted Jesus Christ Superstars in recent years. Since its premiere, the staging has returned to Regent’s Park, played London’s West End, and toured both the U.S. and U.K. The production features design by Tony and Olivier winner Tom Scutt (Cabaret).
The musical debuted in 1970 as a concept album, giving a rock edge to the Biblical Passion story of Jesus. The work put Lloyd Webber and Rice on the map, and continues to be one of their most beloved and produced works. In just the last few years, NBC mounted a live concert broadcast featuring John Legend, Sara Barellies, Brandon Victor Dixon, and Alice Cooper; while an all-star Hollywood Bowl staging recently starred Cynthia Erivo, Adam Lambert, and Phillipa Soo. The score includes such favorites as “I Don’t Know How to Love Him,” “Gethsemane,” and the rousing title song.
The creative team of the upcoming revival will also include music supervisor Tom Deering, lighting designer Lee Curran, sound designer Adam Fisher, fight director Kate Waters, and casting director David Grindrod. Michael Harrison is producing for Lloyd Webber Harrison Musicals, by arrangement with LW Entertainment.
Tickets are at London.JesusChristSuperstar.com.