Godspell began life modestly enough as a student thesis that grew into musical that no-one wanted to produce. And so it might have stayed, had the wonderfully talented Stephen Schwartz not taken five weeks out of his life to transform much of the music and some of the lyrics and so create one of the biggest successes of all time both on, and beyond, Broadway.

St Matthew’s account of Jesus’ ministry springs to life through a wonderful mix of parables, storytelling, pantomime, music hall and, mostly thanks to Schwartz’s intervention, a string of stunning songs including ‘Day by Day’, ‘By My Side’ ‘Turn Back O Man’ and ‘Prepare Ye the Way of The Lord’.

The challenges presented by such a fast-paced, joyous and yet profound, entertainment are enormous. Every member of the cast has to remain engaged for every moment they are on stage. The songs, written to be punched out to the audience, are interspersed with action that combines wit, humour and slapstick with many powerful, and at times genuinely moving, moments.

The beauty of Godspell for any theatrical venture (and this performance had the real feel of a production created for the professional stage) is two-fold. Firstly, that it can involve as few as ten performers or as many as a hundred and secondly, that both Director and cast are encouraged to replace elements of the script with more contemporary references.
Thus although originally rooted in the early 70’s, Hurstpierpoint College’s production of Godspell created a reality that effortlessly embraced both the world of 2,000 years ago and that of today. A world in which Jesus’ simple (yet far from simplistic) words retain extraordinary power.
The magic of any Godspell production can only be released, of course, if the actor playing Jesus is wholly convincing and Director Nicholas Beeby knew exactly what he was doing when he cast 15 year-old Samuel Cox in the role. Cox gave a quite extraordinary performance, perfectly pitched (in every sense of the word) during every one of the 100 or so minutes he was on stage. He portrayed - with incredible empathy and energy - a Jesus possessed of immense wisdom, humanity, warmth, understanding, humility and, yes, just a little fallibility.  Around him swirled a cast of nearly 50 who responded by acting and singing their socks off. Whilst it is impossible to comment here on every individual performer, it would be wrong not to mention just two who helped the cast to steal the hearts of the entire audience.  Richard Hadfield (John the Baptist), only 14, is an incredibly talented actor who also sings like an angel and Catherine Bennett (16) captured the tragedy of Judas with unerring sensitivity. But, to be fair, the whole cast is mighty impressive. Each one gets a few moments in which to ‘star’ and all exude energy and joy and sheer professionalism every moment they are on stage.

In short, Nicholas Beeby has succeeded in creating what is, by any standards, a simply wonderful show. The cast members – with just one or two exceptions – are all aged between 14 and 16, yet perform like seasoned veterans. Many others helped, of course, including Musical Director Neil Matthews and Choreographer Graeme Spencer, but the ultimate accolade must go to the College pupils themselves who, despite all the demands of a very busy school life, committed themselves to making this production a stunning success.