Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat

New Theatre

Tue October - Sat 15th October 2005

A Bill Kenwright Production

First and foremost, this is a feel-good show, given a very lively and energetic production leaving (most of) the audience wanting more. Indeed, I have never been in a theatre where the curtain call goes on for close to 25 minutes. The auditorium was filled with people swaying, clapping, cheering and whistling.

I may be too old and cynical but I was left decidedly underwhelmed by the whole experience. This is a long-established production that has been touring the provinces for many moons - one would have expected the technical glitches to have been ironed out long before things got to Oxford. However this was not the case - the follow-spot operators were clearly either novices or not paying attention - too many times, the lighting failed to ensure that our attention was appropriately focussed. The curtains failed to rise at the right time for the opening act, key props failed to appeal - all in all, the feel was somewhat too amateur for a show charging up to £17.50 for tickets.

There were a couple of note-worthy performances: Marlon Moore was very charismatic as Pharaoh - complete with pelvic thrust and his Elvis vocal stylings, Martin Dickinson sang with a beautiful tone for his brief solos in the second half. Craig Adams as Joseph clearly has the body for the role and he certainly had the young ladies (and not so young) eating out of his hand - but his tuning was somewhat wayward at times. Abigail Jaye (Narrator) lacked the vocal power to lead the show as she should.

The choreography blended the bland with moves that were so predictable that they would have been rejected from a Steps video. The costumes were bright, the set serviceable. Some of the artistic decisions were dubious but were enjoyed by the merry throng in the stalls.

With 1000 people around me having a wonderful time, I feel somewhat churlish about appearing so critical. It clearly does have a lot of appeal for a large target audience. Anything that gives young people their first experience of live theatre is to be welcomed. Having said that, it could have been so much more professionally accomplished.

One word to parents who take their families to the theatre: do not let your youngsters talk during the performance! Nothing is more annoying than having chattering going on throughout the action.

Go, enjoy, have a good time. I will just sit here with my cardigan and slippers on!

Simon Tavener (aged 35 and a bit) – 12/10/2005