Sam Ryder will bring “Gethsemane” to Britain’s Got Talent on 16 May at 6pm on ITV1, then release the new recording on streaming platforms from Saturday evening after the performance. The appearance comes as the singer’s run in Jesus Christ Superstar moves beyond the London Palladium and into a 12-week season at Theatre Royal Drury Lane.

The production will run at Theatre Royal Drury Lane from 16 October to 9 January 2027, with Ryder continuing as Jesus. Desmonda Cathabel will remain as Mary Magdalene, David Thaxton as Pontius Pilate, Bob Harms as Caiaphas, Matty J as Annas and Phil King as Peter. Casting for Judas Iscariot, Simon and King Herod will be announced later.

Producer Michael Harrison said the response to the show had been “nothing short of phenomenal,” adding that demand for tickets at the London Palladium had already broken all-time box office records. He said the production would follow its limited Palladium engagement with another 12-week season at Drury Lane, which he described as the first time a Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber musical has played there. Tickets for the Palladium run start at £63.

The move gives the Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre production a longer London life after this summer’s Palladium engagement. Directed by Tim Sheader, with choreography by Olivier Award winner Drew McOnie and design by Tony and Olivier Award winner Tom Scutt, the show follows the last days of Jesus Christ through the eyes of Judas. The creative team also includes musical supervisor Tom Deering, lighting designer Lee Curran, sound designer Adam Fisher, wigs, hair and makeup designers Sam Cox and Maria Johal, and fight director Kate Waters.

The extension is the clearest sign yet that the revival has outgrown its original limited booking. The bigger question is no longer whether the production has an audience in London. It is how far this cast and creative team can carry it now that the demand has already forced a second major West End venue into the schedule.