Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at Bournemouth Pavilion Theatre Review
DISCLOSURE – TICKETS TO SEE THE SHOW WERE GIFTED TO THE REVIEWER AND GUEST FOR THE PURPOSES OF WRITING THE REVIEW
Reviewed by Helen Osborne
Having last seen Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat when I went on a school trip almost 30 years ago, I jumped at the chance to see a performance by a local amateur theatre company, BBLOC (The Bournemouth and Boscombe Light Opera Company) at Bournemouth Pavilion Theatre.
BBLOC are locally renowned for putting on a good show, with their most recent production of Calendar Girls going down a storm, so I had high hopes for their performance of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat and I wasn’t disappointed!
We were seated in the stalls in seats H25 and H26, which was in the centre section, giving us a brilliant view of the stage and the action. Bournemouth Pavilion Theatre is a relatively old theatre, so although there wasn’t a copious amount of leg room, there was ample for the period of time we were seated.
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat is based on the ‘Coat of many colours’ story from the Bible’s book of Genesis and has become a family favourite, since it was written in 1968, featuring lyrics by Tim Rice and music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, a truly formidable duo. Many famous faces have taken on the lead role, including Jason Donovan and Donny Osmond, so Matt Stockham, playing Joseph had big shoes to fill and he did an amazing job.
Before the curtain went up, the Schoolmaster appeared on stage providing the audience with information about what to expect and asking that the performance not be recorded and requesting that the audience hold-off joining in with the songs, until the ‘Megamix’ at the end of the performance. I loved how this was presented with a bit of humour thrown in and really set the scene for what was to come.
The show opened with the premise of a Schoolmaster giving the pupils a lesson in the story of Joseph. The younger performers took the parts of the school pupils, suitably dressed in school uniform, alongside their teachers, watching on as the story played out before their eyes, whilst acting as the Chorus for the many musical numbers.
There wasn’t long to wait until we met Joseph and had a rousing rendition of Any Dream Will Do. I was impressed by Matt Stockham as Joseph from the outset. He set the bar high with his amazing voice and energy. You could be forgiven for thinking that you were watching a West End Show.
It wasn’t long before we met Joseph’s father Jacob and his 11 brothers, who had a deep jealousy of Joseph, as they believed him to be Jacob’s favourite son. Jacob gives Joseph a coat of many colours and the brothers are seething. They soon sell him off into slavery, tearing his coat of many colours from him and covering it in goat’s blood. Joseph is sent to Egypt, but the brothers tell Jacob that Joseph is dead, handing the bloodied coat back to him. Cue a brilliant rendition of One More Angel and the Hoedown, where the brothers pretended to be grieving for Joseph while Jacob is around and as soon as he leaves, have a party to celebrate.
Meanwhile Joseph now belongs to Potiphar, but Potiphar’s wife had made advances towards him and when Potiphar found out, Joseph was thrown in jail. This led to one of the standout performances of the night, with Joseph singing ‘Close Every Door’, which was absolutely fantastic. Such a powerful performance, the reaction from the audience was palpable.
Act II began with the same energy and enthusiasm that had characterised Act I. The Pharoah had realised that Joseph could interpret dreams, so he set about telling his dream to Joseph, for him to decipher. It wasn’t long before we had another show-stealing moment, this time from Lea Martin, playing the Elvis-like Pharoah singing the ‘Song of the King’. Wow, it was brilliant and hilarious and the audience reaction afterwards nearly brought the house down! The Pharoah was so impressed with Joseph that he released him from jail and made him his second in command.
Meanwhile, back at home, Jacob and the 11 brothers were suffering from famine and regretting what they had done to poor Joseph and decided to go to Egypt where food was plentiful. They turned up, not recognising Joseph in his golden finery, but Joseph knew who they were. He tests their integrity to see if they have changed and when he realises they have, he reveals himself to them as their brother and they are eventually reconciled. Joseph is then given his dreamcoat back. Leading to a gloriously colourful finale, where Jacob helps him put the coat back on and the audience is treated to the sight of the coat in all it’s glory, fanned out displaying all the colours.
The musical arrangements, by musical director Ian Peters are absolutely brilliant, the orchestra played faultlessly throughout the performance. The mix of musical genres for the show is a real treat including pop, calypso and rock & roll, there really is something for everyone.
Special mention to Rosalind Lawton and Amy Cave as the Narrators who are present throughout the entire performance. Both have fantastic vocal ranges and they added so much to the entire performance and kept me engaged throughout. The show is entirely musically based, without spoken dialogue, so it’s testament to the performers who managed to keep the energy, momentum and enthusiasm for the duration of the performance, from the minute it opened to the very end with the Megamix. The standing ovation at the end of the performance was very well earned and testament to the hard work which had clearly been put into it all. Well done to all concerned!
BBLOC are supporting Macmillan Caring Locally for this production.
The show runs at approx 50 minutes for the first half, with a 20 minute interval and again approx 50 mins for the second half.
This show is appearing at Bournemouth Pavilion Theatre from 4th-7th October 2023, including a whopping 3 performances on Saturday 7th October!
Rating: 5/5
RRP: Tickets range between £19.50 and £29.50
Buy tickets here: https://www.bournemouthpavilion.co.uk/events/bbloc-joseph-2023