Joseph and The Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat

Joseph and The Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat 14/6/19

This production of Jospeh, by St James’ Players was a small but energetic performance.  It had a small cast which fit the stage really well.  This was a real “grass roots” production and this is where many of us start our performance career, in small church hall productions with a small budget but an enthusiastic cast that were prepared to give 120%.

The piece, directed by Philip Tomlinson and assisted by Claire Hooson  brought this much loved story to life.  I want to kick off by mentioning the fantastic children’s choir, sat proudly at either side of the stage.  Their vocals were well rehearsed and it showed.  The singing was beautiful by all the girls in the choir, well done all of you.  The show was run to tracks with the addition of a live digital piano played by Robin Stopford who did a great job of keeping the cast under control and singing when they should.  There was a clear connection between the performers and the MD, which as an experienced MD myself I really like to see.  The title role of Joseph was played by the productions director Philip Tomlinson It is a lovely role and Philip has obviously worked hard trying to create his vision of the show whilst leading from the front of the stage as the lead.  A little pitchy initially, which seemed to be down to the monitor not working for the first couple of songs, however the tech team seemed to spring into action and rectified the issue with some expert creeping and fixing the problem on the fly.  There were some issues with the technical side of the production, which, as usual comes down to budgets etc. The cast weren’t mic’d which was a bit of a problem with some of the vocal performances in a long performance space.  I was lucky enough to be on the front row so managed to hear most of it but I’m sure the vocal volume would have been a problem a little further back.  There was a stage mic, but this only just picked up some of the louder performances.  We need to help each other at this level to make sure everyone has a good chance at showing to the best and hopefully for the next show, there maybe a chance that this cast could borrow some mics.

The narrators Lyndsey Wilson and Delphine Walton gave a secure and confident performance and the vocals of both performers was to a high standard and really did help to keep the singing going throughout the show.  The brothers in the show ranged in age but all did a great job and the voices mixed very well.  Pharaoh is the usual comedy character in this show and this time was no difference, with Stuart Cann performing the role with vigour, confidence and some killer side burns!!  

I have to say that the enjoyment on the faces of all the performers on stage was clear to see and really stood out as the main catalyst for everyone wanting to be involved.  

Well done to this small cast for producing a well loved show and putting the effort into making it your own.

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