There was a lot riding on The Invitation Theatre Company’s production of Jesus Christ Superstar at St Mary’s Church in Devizes, which is running until Saturday.

Not only is it Titco’s first full-scale dramatic production, it is also the first such show in the redundant church, which the St Mary’s Trust is hoping will become a well-used community venue for the town.

As you might expect in a medieval church, the acoustics are not ideal for a theatrical show and, despite large numbers of stand microphones installed around the stage, some of the lyrics were inaudible.

But that is a small caveat in Jemma Brown’s production that bursts onto the stage with colour and energy from the very first.

With Tony James’s rock band modestly hidden somewhere in the choir, the cast throw themselves into Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd-Webber’s rock opera based on the Passion of Christ with verve and a lot of talent.

In this version of the Passion, Christ is very much at the receiving end of the action rather than the centre it and Anthony Brown has a pleasant enough voice to cope with the demands on him.

The other principals have much more fun and they relish their roles, particularly Chris Worthy as Judas Iscariot, Sean Andrews as Pontius Pilate, Jon Paget as Caiaphas and Paul Morgan as Annas.

Lucianne Worthy as Mary Magdelene sings I Don’t Know How to Love Him very prettily but her performance is under-powered compared to the energy that is being expended around her.

The star of the show, indeed, is the chorus, most of whom are better known for playing lead roles.

They bring their experience and stagecraft as an ensemble to produce stirring renditions of some of the best music written for the stage in modern times, aided by effective choreography from Allison Moore.

So St Mary’s is proven as a very promising venue for productions and other events. Let's just hope that the planning authority will very soon see sense and give them the approval they require.