Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (Amateur Youth Production)

When the newly formed partnership of Andrew Lloyd Weber and Tim Rice wrote Joseph one could imagine that they had ESTC in mind - was it not for the fact that it was written almost five decades before this production and many of the parents of children on stage had not yet been born.  Under the expert artistic direction of Producer, Salliane Foster-Major, this fabulous group of young people took the popular musical and made it their own. The production brought together the Senior and Junior ‘Easy Streeters’ resulting in a cast of over 60.
Playing his first title role, Danny Hawley, was a fabulous Joseph.  He captured the emotions of the character, sang with a strong voice and didn’t over play the part – an excellent debut.  Joe McCartney as Pharaoh was very entertaining and gave a strong performance.  The talented narrators, Jacob Bush, Harry Foster-Major, Rosie Middleton, Caitlin Robinson, Madeline Schofield and Lara Shaw sang beautifully throughout and really held the story together.  A special mention for Lara who, despite still being at Junior School, held her own with the teenage narrators. 
The brothers were a great band of miscreants keeping us entertained and throwing some stylish dance moves.   I particularly enjoyed ‘Those Canaan Days’ featuring Thomas Baycroft and ‘Benjamin Calypso’ with Rhys Quinn.
Amanda Tyas choreographed the production and I felt that the tap dance during ‘Potiphar’ really added to the show.  The performers covered a wide age range and the dances and movement had been choreographed to best show the variety of abilities whilst not side-lining the younger, less experienced performers.  The large ensemble supported the cast and their enthusiastic singing and dancing had the energy that this show needs.
The hard work of Musical Director, Gareth Lloyd, was evident in the singing and the five piece band sounded great.  The show is completely sung throughout and the production team had evidently worked together to ensure that the performers could move and sing whilst maintaining their characters.
The costumes were appropriate for the production and Joseph’s coats just kept getting better.  The minimalistic set allowed the performers to make great use of the performance space and their energy in using both the stage and the front of the hall enhanced the performance.  The projected back cloths together with props were cleverly used and expertly moved around the stage by both performers and stage crew.  Sound and light worked well - well done to the technical team as there will have been limited rehearsal time in the performance venue.
The use of the mobility scooter for the ‘chariot of gold’ was inspired and Salliane had clearly put a lot of thought into the well organised and expertly delivered finale.  The standing ovation was well deserved.   Congratulations to everyone involved – a great production.
 

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