Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat is the first musical pairing of Andrew Lloyd-Webber and Tim Rice and it has been a favourite of many, including me, for over 50 years. I fondly remember repeat playing’s of the vinyl we had in the 70’s along with JC Superstar and Evita.

This famous pair of writers were only 17 and 20 years old at the time, and the original production was a 15 minute ‘Pop Cantata’, written for a school in London. It has since had songs added to it and been extended with the classic mega-mix repetition dance-off as the finale.

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat is based on the Bible story from Genesis, but this musical is not overtly religious. It has universal themes of family conflict/reconciliation and a message of accepting others and ‘to thine own self be true’. 

We follow Joseph’s journey from favourite son of Jacob, to his subsequently being sold into slavery because of his brothers’ jealousy and lack of acceptance of who he is. Fortunately, Joseph has a knack for interpreting dreams and – after a stint in prison! – he manages to become the Pharoah’s right hand man.

The Gryphon is set up in a thrust seating pattern with the audience on 3 sides. Several boxes and platforms are set as staging with a keyboard in the corner. Tracks of Rice and Webber musicals are playing in the background.

When I saw 1st Gear Productions advertising for a cast of 18 – 25 yr olds for this show, I anticipated a variation in the presentation of this story, given that the youth voice is so often heard in director Micky Delahunty’s productions.

While there isn’t as strong a societal message as in previous productions like their Jesus Christ Superstar, this production is a playful interpretation of this well-known musical.

I love seeing it set back in its original student performance arts environment rather than the over-the-top spectacular it has become, giving these younger performers of differing experience the opportunity to learn the art of storytelling through a much-loved theatre piece. 

The entrance of the actors/students coming into the space has a certain familiarity to it: the diva warming up dramatically in the middle of the floor; the ones who hang-out in a bunch with the bravado of safety in numbers; the ones who scuttle past these ‘cool kids’ and sit isolated to one side; the over-zealous stage hand trying their best to please – all amplified for extra effect.

This is especially apparent in the opening ‘Prologue’ sung by the drama teacher (Justin Pierce – also Musical Director), where he presides over them in a God-like fashion. The opening prologue words, aimed at the clamouring students waiting to get their roles, are that much more pointed in this staged premise.
   Some folks dream of the wonders they’ll do
   Before their time on this planet is through
   [….]
   We all dream a lot – some are lucky, some are not …

This immediately sets up the light-hearted disenchantment of some students being jealous of the student who gets Joseph, leading nicely right from the get-go into their show characters. (As I said, stereotypes are being playfully milked)

Samuel Brown gives a wonderful depiction of the dreamer Joseph with beautiful vocals and radiant facial expressions. Samuel’s storytelling is absolutely delightful and embodies the whole character journey.

As well as playing keys, Jono Weston sings The Narrator and also jumps up to give a fun portrayal of Potiphar. Props to Guitarist Jared Lee for seamlessly sliding on to the piano stool to sub while Jono struts his stuff.

The brothers ensemble of Hailey Igoy, Monique Eatherley, Skye Lynch (also Butler), Sarah Hay (also Baker) and Lucy Delahunty-Versteegh (Stage Hand), all play their roles with hearty conviction. Special mention to Parekawa Finlay (also Potiphar’s wife) for her portrayal of Pharoah and to Olivia Marshall for the choreography.

The cast bond and playfulness is infectious, especially in songs like ‘One More Angel in Heaven’ and ‘Canaan Days’, and a special mention to the on-point harmonising.

I am especially grateful to the omission of the song ‘Benjamin Calypso’which, while a fun song in itself, breaks the over-riding arc with its placement in the extended version of this musical. This moment where the brothers have finally shown themselves to be humble, kind humans and Joseph feels he can reveal himself to them is a moment of strength and power, and the genuine sentiment and point of the whole story, for me, gets lost with its inclusion.

The band of Jono Weston (keys), Sam Glover (bass), Jared Lee (guitar), Jacob Baxter (drums) and Clarinet player Felix McDougall, support the whole production with excellent groove!

Overall this production does what it seems to have set out to do: serve as an opportunity for a bunch of theatre lovers to play together, and create a strong environment to continue to build their craft. Their engaging storytelling is fully committed to the theatrical style and the side ‘classroom’ carry-ons are humorous.

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