Joseph And His Amazing Technical Dreamboat Youth Production

Joseph was originally written for children in 1968 with Lyrics by Tim Rice and Music by Andrew Lloyd Webber. It is based on the Biblical story of Joseph, his father Jacob. He has eleven brothers but he is the favourite of his father who presents him with ‘a coat of many colours’. He is sold into slavery by his jealous brothers and after enduring a series of adventures he soon finds himself belonging to Potipher whose wife makes advances to him which ultimately land him in jail. However news of his ability to interpret dreams reaches the ears of Pharoah and he is soon out of jail and becomes second in command to him. He saves the country from famine and his brothers come grovelling for help and after initially not recognising him, he is soon reunited with Jacob and his family.

The Narrator guides the audience through the story but in this instance we didn’t have just one, we had four and what a superb and accomplished quartet they were. We had Phoebe Litherland, Grace Burton, Abi Ashforth and Olivia Bell. They had a real sense of story-telling and were beautifully attired in vivid, different coloured jackets. Their singing, whether together or in solo pieces, was just divine and they could dance and move so well. Fifteen year old Finn Eden was so impressive as Joseph. He has an amazing singing voice for one so young as was evident in his many songs, none more so than in his moving delivery of ‘Close Every Door’. He has a natural stage presence and he acted the role with great confidence and charisma - a superb performance. Joseph’s eleven brothers were played so enthusiastically by Hannah Raziq, Flori Sims, Seb Harrison, Izzy Miller, Libby Olney, Mamie Skipper, Alice Lincoln, Lily Lowe, Amelie Gooding, Lily Wilson-Clarke and Amelie Corbett. They were dressed in Denim Jackets, each had the initial of their character name on the back, and wore harem style trousers. They were all superb in singing, acting and dancing and all of their many numbers were delivered with such exuberance and animation. I loved the singing of ‘One More Angel in Heaven’ beautifully sung by Hannah Raziq as was ‘Those Canaan Days’ by Flori Sims and another stellar solo performance came from Seb Harrison when he took the lead in ‘Benjamin Calypso’. Freddie Levesley excelled as Pharoah, or should I say ‘Elvis’. It is a difficult role to play but his interpretation was spot on from his great voice and outfit to his wonderful gyrating hips. Kai Mason was suitably arrogant as Potiphar and his wife was seductively portrayed by Bethany Barnes. Excellent performances came from Darcey Booth as the Baker, from Jasmine Carrington as the Butler and from Archie Counter as Jacob and good support came from the four members of the chorus. They were Ebony Counter, Idris Crawford, Emily Woodward and Isla Atherton. The singing was of a very high standard and the execution of the innovative choreographed numbers was terrific. The costumes were great, loved the coat of many colours, the props were splendid and together with good back projections and a super lighting plot we certainly saw a most delightful show. There were a few technical issues but as it was the first performance these, I’m sure, would be sorted. The company has been without a Musical Director since last October but Robert Moseley, an ex member of BJMT, has now stepped into the breach and he was at the front conducting. It is a real joy to see so many young people partaking in the wonderful world of Musical Theatre and every young person on that stage must have worked so hard to reach the standard that they achieved. All credit must go to Belper Musical Theatre Company for encouraging this participation. Many congratulations to Director Jen Lewis, to Producer Stacey Hyndman, to Choreographer Sharon Stringer assisted by Danni Stringer and to everyone else involved in this most delightful and entertaining production - I loved it. Many thanks also to Chairman Sarah Stone, for her very warm welcome.

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