Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat

On a balmy July evening, as I strode from the carpark to the theatre, I could already hear the bustling foyer and was given my customary warm welcome by Sally Hughes, Jenny Tonks and the rest of the front of house team. I took my seat in the auditorium with great anticipation. Tonight's Joseph was Jack Oliver and the Narrator was Niamh Harman.

We were greeted by a bare front of stage with two banks of choir seats to stage left and right to seat the choir which, for each of the performances in this run, was supplied by local schools. What a great idea to promote community theatre in this way! They arrived, the lights dimmed and we got underway. The first of the cast entered the stage, set up as a school room with a black backcloth and the teachers began to tell the story. The backdrop then pulled back to reveal a fully set stage, depicting those biblical times. Bright and engaging and extremely well lit (Tom Pearce) and the whole of the lighting effects during the two acts was well designed and well programmed, really adding to the show. The sound (Mark Bourne) equally was well balanced, and the cast could be heard well over the sixteen piece orchestra who were (sadly) hidden backstage, however they were extremely well led by Martin Bennetts as MD, and they made a terrific sound.

The cast were well rehearsed and confident in their delivery, enthusiastic and clearly enjoying themselves (and why wouldn't you) and this boundless energy came over into the auditorium, we were very well entertained. The diction was great, especially considering the (sometimes) challenging choreography by Jemma Leech, however the visual effect was top quality and well worth her design and efforts (especially "Canaan days" and "Go Go Go Joseph".)

The costumes, and there were many of them, really added to the performance. Mandy Harrison and her team had obviously put a lot of time and effort into this and are to be commended for the obvious long hours, it really was worth it.

The cast was led very well by Niamh Harman as the narrator, who kept a great pace going throughout the evening and held the show together well. Jack Oliver as Joseph followed well, flamboyant and colourful, and the entire cast interacted well with him. They were very well backed by Adam Rush as Pharoah, with Mark Ponsford (Potipher and Buttler), Mick Atwood (Jacob) and Lizzie Bewley as Potipher's wife. However to be honest the entire cast of brothers and wives all played their parts well and all lines delivered with clarity and confidence.

Overall, this was a very well delivered bright, vibrant and entertaining evening, and on their tenth anniversary a fantastic success enjoyed by cast, crew and the audience, Bravo Spot On, here's to the next ten!

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