Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat

Presented by Fareham Musical Society's Youth Theatre.

One of the most enduring musicals of all time, Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat premiered in 1970, and was based on the “coat of many colours” story of Joseph from the Bible’s Book of Genesis. Originally written to be performed by schools, the show has little spoken dialogue and is almost entirely sung-through and could be seen as quite a challenge for a youth group to take on. Add in a move to a full-size theatre, plus an orchestra and radio mics to contend with, and I wondered if this would all prove too much for FMS Youth Theatre? Of course not!! They were triumphant, producing the most spectacular and exhilarating evening’s entertainment it’s been my privilege to see in an awfully long time!

Matt Swann and Stuart Frank’s crisp and innovative direction and choreography, with lots of humorous touches, combined with the energy, enthusiasm and talent of this young cast, made the show feel as fresh as the day it was written. An imposing set, simple but colourful costumes mixing modern and period themes, combined with excellent lighting, produced a vivid picture throughout. The orchestra, under Louise Helyer’s baton, was well controlled and rarely swamped even the smallest voices (also a tribute to the hall’s excellent sound system). The backstage crew must be congratulated too, for the smooth transitions between scenes, despite the mayhem that must have been going on around them with so many fast costume changes.

Everything hinges around Joseph, and he was played with great confidence and style by Tristan Redwood, handling the serious moments and the humour equally well. His singing voice has matured nicely and was perfect for this role. Sharing the narration between three performers was inspired. Anna Reynolds, Eleanor Wallace and Estelle Munn all had crystal clear diction – essential when explaining the story - and melodious singing voices. Every single member of the cast shone in their roles, but I must mention a few stand-out performances. Emily Downs and Verity Gregg as the Butler and the Baker, showed talent way beyond their years; Isabelle Parsons has the most sublime singing voice - King of My Heart took my breath away - and she really nailed the role of Pharaoh; Matthew Cocker totally owned the role of Potiphar, with such good characterisation, confident singing and a strong stage presence; Sini Ruvidic gave the Snake – just a glove puppet - such personality; and lastly but definitely not least, Arthur Westmorland (Benjamin) showed great presence of mind, recovering so well from the maraca failure!

MD Louise Helyer had obviously coached the soloists hard and their singing was of a consistently good standard – as was the singing of the whole chorus. Excellent diction meant all of the words could be heard easily – so important when there is little spoken dialogue. Dancing and movement was also top notch. Choreographer Matt Swann must have spent many hours drilling the dancers in the complicated sequences, because they were executed to perfection. They had great style and pizazz, and their movements were really fluid, almost balletic at times.

As I hope you can tell, I REALLY loved this production – my only regret was that I didn’t see the Friday night performance so that I could have come and seen it all over again on Saturday! This was the fourth show I’d seen that week (including one professional) and it was far and away the best, leaving me feeling elated for the rest of the evening. What a superb team effort this was! A huge WELL DONE to everyone, both on stage and behind the scenes. You all worked SO hard and achieved so much. I hope you all enjoyed every minute of the run.

© NODA CIO. All rights reserved.