12 – 22 March
A packed auditorium rocking along to the ‘Joseph Megamix’ finale was enough to tell you that this Laurence Connor directed iteration of Tim Rice/Andrew Lloyd Webber’s hit musical was going down well, back after a three-year hiatus. Brash, colourful and extremely loud, this was a Joseph that was not shy about grabbing attention.
In its current form since the early seventies, Joseph grew from its original 15-minute pop cantata format written for a prep school in West London. The Old Testament story of Jacob’s favourite son cast into slavery by his jealous siblings, and their eventual reconciliation, has since been nominated multiple times for Tony and Lawrence Olivier Awards.
Written for a young audience, while Rice’s lyrics flirt with the corny, they’re silly enough to be witty… of his coat eg: ‘When I got to try it on, I knew my sheepskin days were gone…’ or, ‘In a class above the rest, it even went well with his vest…’ gives you an idea. Add the Lloyd Webber genius for catchy melodies and… bingo!
In a bit of a rush when asked to expand the short, original arrangement into a full-blown musical, Rice and Lloyd Webber clearly had fun adding a potpourri of styles into the mix so that bluegrass, calypso, disco and ballads all find themselves bolted onto the rock and pop.
Tonight’s cast, including a very talented troupe of trainee child actors many gaining their first professional credit, absolutely nailed the mixture of styles, led by powerful performances from Adam Filipe as Joseph, Christina Bianco as the Narrator and former X-Factor winner Joe McElderry as Pharaoh, every bit the bling King of Rock.
Performed as a sung-through musical, the disasters and crises as they occur during the telling, veered towards being more panto than pitiable at times, giving the show something of a ‘Bible goes to Butlins’ vibe. But the sheer pace of delivery by the ensemble, with slick choreography from Joann M. Hunter and colourful scene and costume design from Morgan Large, takes us breathlessly and tunefully from Texas hoedown and Parisian can-can to the Egyptian desert and the splendid court of the Pharaoh in some style. The pizzazz level has been set to the max – showtime on steroids, while the spectacle remains blessed with ‘annoyingly catchy tunes’ as my fellow critic wrote in 2022. A fun, feelgood night out for those in the mood to blow away the woes of the world. Don’t forget your ear plugs.
★★★☆☆ Simon Bishop, 14 March 2025
