The Rice/Lloyd Webber illustrated bible story is nearly fifty years old.  The novelty and frisson of setting holy writ to a popular music score and having some irreverent fun with the characters of the story may seem tame by today’s trenchantly secular standards. The anachronisms may appear to teeter on cliché , but the music still holds its own with a couple of evergreen songs, Close Every Door and Any Dream Will Do, to provide highlights.  Much of the ongoing success of the show has been down to some clever casting. Joe McElderry, an X-Factor winner, is the latest in a line of bright young and popular things with the necessary talent to carry the show.

Too nice by half and too naive to see the effect his popularity with his dad is having on his brothers, Joseph is a character that fits the personable Mr McElderry like a glove.  With ill luck and good fortune snapping at his heels in equal measure, his sunny disposition is something the audience, like the character, can cling to and Mr McElderry, whose fanbase was there to cheer him on, dished it out unstintingly.  As a vocal artist you’d have to say he was highly accomplished and, as a stage presence, someone who is developing all the time.

One of the show’s original ideas is to have a narrator who moves seamlessly from the present day to the historical setting of Joseph in ancient Egypt.  Lucy Kay is our guide through this story from Jewish myth and legend, a task she carries with brisk efficiency and flair.  She has a voice capable of sustained power and clarity and having clearly mastered the narrator (as with Mr McElderry) we look forward to seeing her in roles with more emotional depth.

The presence of a children’s choir on stage reminds us that Joseph is regularly done as a school play, the medley of musical styles offering the opportunity for different talents to shine in a fun salmagundi. Similarly the show lends itself to a simplicity of staging which is not necessarily bettered by more lavish professional production.  That said, the dance routines by Henry Metcalfe are colourful and witty whilst giving an extra zing to the reliable direction of Bill Kenwright.  Sean Kavanagh deftly conjures up ancient Egypt with a few strokes and the costumes match the music with eclectic anachronism and variety.

It’s a thoroughly enjoyable family show, which continues to showcase some impressive emerging talent.  ★★★☆☆    Graham Wyles   3^rd May