After ten years away Glenn Carter tells Marion Sauvebois why he is resurrecting the role of Jesus

 

TEN years ago Glenn Carter turned his back on God – professionally speaking.

After notching up 800 performances (give or take) in the West End and on Broadway as the Messiah in Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s Jesus Christ Superstar not to mention playing his likeness on the big screen, he finally closed the door on the career-defining role.

That is, until he could not possibly stand it any longer and flung said door wide open.

“I had put it to bed,” reveals the actor and singer-songwriter. “I had done four or five productions of it over 18 years. It was eight shows a week, in under two years of performances in total. I couldn’t tell you how many shows it is but it’s a quite a lot. I thought I would never be able to do it again and I turned down a few productions of Jesus Christ Superstar.

“It’s such a great thrill that I decided to come back to it. The part itself is a massive technical exercise. I’ve been a professional for 34 years now and Gethsemane is by far the most complex song anyone has been asked to do. It’s the most amazing emotional ride.”

While the age gap between the actor and his saintly alter ego is only widening, Glenn has been blessed with youthful features and even at 51 years old can confidently pass for 30-something with a touch stage magic.

“I’m a lot older than Jesus should be but I’ve not aged as much as I could have done,” he says with a chuckle.

In fact the proverbial wisdom which comes with age has informed the way he has come to interpret the role.

“It changes with every production,” adds Glenn, who at one time destined himself to a football career before an injury launched him on an unsuspected path.

“My thought process changes. The role has a life of its own and as you grow older it informs what you do. I think this time Jesus is less emotionally fractured and volatile. He is wiser which is probably how I should have played him 20 years ago.”

His day-time job may seem at odds with his other engagement as the UK president of the Raelians– the “humanist” group, he clarifies, he has been leading since 2002.

Founded by former journalist Claude Vorilhon, now known as Rael, in 1973, the sect claims that Elohim, members of an extraterrestrial race came to Earth thousands of years ago and created all forms of life. It also contends that Jesus was resurrected using an advanced cloning technique.

“It’s a vocational thing,” he explains. “I had no aspirations to be in charge. I just found a book in a bookshop about it and it answered questions that I had always been asking about religion and science.”

It is perhaps the reason behind the actor’s decision to shift the focus from Christ’s religious significance to the preternatural bond between a son and his father.

“We don’t believe in God, there’s no heaven or hell. As an atheist, it informs the way I play Jesus in the sense that I care about humanity and that’s what Jesus did. I play him as a man, talking to his father who is heaven, or the sky. It’s about a father and son.”

Looking to the future, he concedes he may not be so quick to dismiss a return to the part which has so deeply defined his musical career after this latest tour.

“We will see. If it still inspires, maybe.”

Glenn will be joined by co-stars Tim Rogers as Judas and X Factor finalist Rachel Adedeji as Mary Magdalene. Jesus Christ Superstar stars will run at the Bristol Hippodrome until July 25. To book go to www.atgtickets.com/shows/jesus-christ-superstar-tickets/bristol-hippodrome or call 0844 8713012.