Joseph And The Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat

Firstly I’d just like to say a huge thank you for the invitation to come and see this production, I thought everyone did a superb job from start to finish, and on a very warm Saturday afternoon in July, this show was an absolute treat, so well done Riverside Theatre Company.

Rowan Alfred has done a brilliant job directing a company of 16 youngsters and has set Joseph in the round which worked very effectively. The upstage section is taken up by a large choir of youngsters and a live band who I was very interested to read were funded through Kickstarter. I think it’s brilliant that Riverside Theatre Company are funding their productions through new and innovative means, I just think it’s disappointing for them that they have to because they truly are doing a great job. We had a blank stage and no set was used at all throughout the show. The cast wore comfortable day dress with the occasional addition of one item, such as the coat for Joseph or a headdress for the Pharaoh. It was all very simplistic yet very effective. It also allowed the cast to quickly switch from playing one character to another.

I enjoyed the relaxed, immersive feel at the top of the show with the cast warming up and talking to the audience. The Narrator played by Jess Riddy had a lovely lyrical tone to her voice, her diction was generally very good. Jess’ physicality looked rather stiff and nervous at the top of the show but she seemed to relax into the piece during Act II. I would have liked to have heard a bit of a ‘belt’ on the “Letting out a mighty roar…/Chained and bound…” sections.

We met our Joseph, Rhys Nadin in ‘Any Dream Will Do’. Rhys sang with strength and confidence. This was staged nicely and the children’s choir supported very well. There was some really nice choreography by Ellen Tipping, particularly in ‘Jacob and Sons’ and the dance break in ‘One More Angel in Heaven’. ‘One More Angel in Heaven’ had some good formations and lots of energy. In ‘Close Every Door’, Rhys again had a strong voice and was once again well-accompanied by the children’s choir. I would have liked to have seen more vulnerability to Joseph at this stage. I particularly liked the staging here with the use of tealights by the ensemble.

Joseph had a cast of 16 youngsters, of which only 4 were male so we had gender-blind casting aplenty. Lucy Goldstone as Potiphar was strong throughout and I could hear her singing out her harmonies in most of the company numbers. Alfie Fox had enormous stage presence throughout the whole show and was a real joy to watch, I could see that he was also a capable mover. Izzy Lines was another performer with great presence, her face lit up the stage and she was very sure of her choreography, whereas I could see other less confident performers looking to their peers for the next step.

If I had a criticism, I think the decision to use Hannah Gilbert for both the Butler and the Baker in ‘Go, Go, Go Joseph’ was perhaps a little confusing for the audience and would have given one of the cast members an opportunity at another role. Hannah also got to sing the majority of ‘Those Canaan Days’ and it would have been nice to have heard more of the casts’ voices and to have attempted a French accent to keep in tone with the French music and the Berets. There were a few noticeable harmony issues during ‘Those Canaan Days’ which needed a little more work.

My highlights for Act II were definitely the ‘Song of The King’ and ‘Benjamin Calypso’. Noah Johnson as the Pharaoh may not have been the strongest singer but I could see that he was really trying hard and I thought he did a very good job. Jacob Albone as Judah is clearly a more comfortable singer but ‘Benjamin Calypso’ is a big musical number and I felt Jacob was capable of a bigger, more vibrant performance. I thought both young men did very well in their respective roles.

The band were excellent, I couldn’t see any monitors so the MD, Ian Tipping kept everyone together extremely well and this production also had excellent pace. Perhaps the decision to not use scenery helped with the pace and keeping the action moving, but each of the scenes and musical numbers were snappy, this kept all of us, especially the younger members, on a hot summer’s afternoon, engaged with the show.

I also loved the vibrant programme, it was very well-designed and informative, excellent work by Eleanor Robinson and Tim Powers Design.

Quite often local youth productions can be let down in the technical department, but I specifically noticed how great the lighting was on this production, there were some lovely effects made, and whilst there were a few minor late sound cues, I recognise that I’m being pretty picky here, so congratulations to Dave and Kate Maltby on an excellent job.

Whilst this review may contain some criticisms, I hope they are seen as constructive as I honestly really enjoyed the production and thought everyone did a very good job. We were very well looked after by Linda Riddy and her Front of House team so my thanks to them. I feel Riverside Theatre Company under the direction of Rowan Alfred, Ian Tipping and Ellen Tipping have put together a production they should all be very proud of. Keep up the great work.

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