Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at Milton Keynes Theatre Review
DISCLOSURE – TICKETS TO SEE THE SHOW WERE GIFTED TO THE REVIEWER AND GUEST FOR THE PURPOSES OF WRITING THE REVIEW
Reviewed by Mel Randle
Last night my daughter and I went to Milton Keynes Theatre to watch the latest touring production of Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat – the classic Andrew Lloyd Webber/Tim Rice collaboration that has been revived numerous times with many notable cast members since it’s conception in 1972. I’m going to consider a perspective from both of us in this review because we both left with very different opinions of what we just watched. I am a long-term Andrew Lloyd Webber superfan and Joseph is one of the first musicals I saw in the West End as a child. I have seen numerous different productions over the years and I left this particular production feeling hugely disappointed.
For my daughter (9), it was her first time seeing the show and she absolutely loved it, claiming it was now one of her favourites. So how could our opinions be so polar opposite!?
I am going to start with the positives – for me, this was one of the most visually outstanding sets I have seen in a long time – if ever! The use of colour, material, lighting and scenery really was a technicolour dream. From the moment the curtain rose to the moment it dropped it was a colour fest which at times, took my breath away. The props – camels, sheep, chariots etc were brilliant and gave some little chuckle moments. But that for me is where the love of the show ends.
I think the biggest disappointment for me was the allocation of character parts. Adam Filipe as Joseph was average and his part wasn’t helped by the most lack-lustre ‘dreamcoat’ I have seen in any Joseph production. The Narrator – Christina Bianco – has an incredible voice, but she seemed to present the part in an almost pantomime way which verged on irritating rather than funny. She also took on the role of Jacob. Her transformation involved donning a false beard that made her look more like a garden gnome.
The character swap didn’t stop there as she then became Potiphar’s wife and performed some really bizarre scene with a ‘big cat’ rug over her head! Joe McElderry took the iconic role of Pharaoh – I wonder if his performance would have had the same impact on the audience had the ‘Egypt’ set not be so amazing with a fabulous dance ensemble and singing statues!
And then we come to the casting of children. As brilliant as they were, using children for some of the key roles in this production, for me, ruined it. I didn’t go to see a ‘junior’ version of it, so casting Potiphar, The Baker, The Butler and four of the brothers amongst others as children just didn’t work for me. More false beards cast night and day over the costume department’s choice. The adult brothers were utterly fantastic, as were the ensemble of dancing women who sadly were not used to their full potential in this show.
All that being said, if you haven’t seen the show before (and therefore have no expectation), you will love it. And it is definitely child friendly with my daughter captivated from start to finish!! The music score thankfully was on the whole unaltered so this remains still one of my favourite musicals of all time. Unfortunately this particular production bought nothing new to the table for me.
Rating: 4/5
Joseph And The Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat is showing at Milton Keynes Theatre until Sunday 10th August.
Tickets from £43 are subject to a transaction fee of £3.95
For more information and to book tickets visit www.atgtickets.com