AWARD-WINNING Eastleigh Borough Youth theatre (EBYT) brings Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's famous religious rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar to The Point from next Wednesday.

The show first exploded onto the stage in 1971. Acclaimed as a masterpiece by some, rejected by others as irreligious, it has attained the status of theatrical legend. Packed with hit songs including I Don't Know How to Love Him, Could We Start Again, Please and, of course, Superstar, fierce rock rhythms, chunky power chords and heart searing ballads all combine in Webber's unforgettable score.

The show marks a year of intensive work by EBYT's director Tim Ford who has put his own individual and distinctive stamp on the production. Metal cages and climbing equipment allow the cast to be suspended at different levels to create a 3D world supported by state-of-the-art lighting effects that alone took six months to work out.

Tim said: "This production aims to give the audience questions and allows them to think, which I believe is really important in theatre. This is not a happy-clappy, sing-along musical! It is based on real love and passion and a quest to find truth!"

Tim admits that for the young cast this has been the most gruelling show EBYT have ever done both mentally and emotionally. He said: "This it is one of the toughest vocal challenges that musical theatre has to offer with intense non stop rock opera. Jamie Hunt, who plays Jesus is a total newcomer - this is his first musical.

9 - 12 July, The Point, Eastleigh. Box office: 023 8065 2333.