Recent Press
Joseph brings a Biblical tale, and crowd, alive
Theatre Royal, Windsor, 24 Jul 2003
Review by Aamina Zafar
Andrew Lloyd Webber's classic has lost none of its power to entertain, educate and basically amaze the socks off the crowd.
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat is of course a jazzed up version of The Bible's tale of Joseph (Andrew Derbyshire) and his 11 brothers.
The story confirms that brotherly love was not a term that existed in his family's vocabulary, as we see Joseph's flesh and blood plotting to get rid of him.
Things go from bad to worse for our hero when Mrs Potiphar (Abigail Rosser) takes a liking to him, which lands Joseph in jail. However, as musicals are the quintessential dramas of reassurance, Joseph soon becomes a prince, gets reunited with his family and lives happily ever after.
As the minutes of Bill Kenwright's production passed, the musical became more and more like a pop concert. It seemed everyone from adults to teenagers could not resist clapping their hands and humming along to the live orchestra, which strummed out classics, like 'Any Dream Will Do' and 'One More Angel In Heaven'.
The whole production was a kaleidoscopic spectacle, from the grand set to the impressive costume changes, which effortlessly transported the audience to Egypt, America, Israel, and France within the space of two hours. Although the painted palm tress and animal costumes may have seemed cliché in other theatre genres, they added to the light heartedness of the evening.
All the performers were without doubt superb, however I had a soft spot for Derbyshire. His boyish good looks and angelic voice ensured that he was perfect as the sensitive, yet charismatic male lead.
Despite making me laugh with his silly dance to Pharaoh's (Michael Quinn) narration of his dream, Derbyshire was versatile enough to add sincerity to his more emotionally challenging scenes. I will put my hands up and confess that his gentleness during the scene where he was reunited with his father Jacob (Phil Cole) did bring a tear to my eye!
As a result I was not surprised to discover that Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat has become a ritual for school kids across Windsor. According to Emily Henderson - a spokeswoman for the Theatre Royal: "Summer holidays would not be the same without seeing Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. It has become a tradition."
©Trinity Mirror Plc 2003
IT'S HOT WORK IN JOSEPH'S DREAMCOAT
13 August 2003
It may be blue, red, yellow, green, purple and very, very bright, but it's too hot to wear at this time of the year. At least that's what Andrew Derbyshire, who plays the main character in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, says about the magic piece of garment he has to put on during the performances.
The 21-year-old from Manchester arrived in Torquay at the beginning of the week where he will perform for the next ten days, but he says the temperatures have gone beyond expectations.
"It's really hot on the scene, especially when I have to wear the coat," he said. "It's very bright and people go wow when they see it, but there's a lot of sweating underneath.
"I don't think when they designed it they had the 90-degree temperatures in mind. It's really heavy and has got long arms."
But despite the inconvenience, Andrew says he loves hot weather which makes him feel "a bit abroad."
"It's lovely down here in Torquay. I feel as if I was in Spain. My mum came here a few years ago and she said it would be really nice. And I agree.
"Yesterday I wanted to jump in the fountain near the Princess Theatre but they said I wasn't allowed to. "
In between matinees and evening shows, Andrew still gets enough time to put on his trunks and go down to the beach to soak up the sun. "My mum and I love the sun. Dad prefers to sit under an umbrella, but he's always the one to get brown. I only get red, even though I put a lot of oil and creams on."
Andrew said he would love to return to Torquay where he found a welcoming audience.
"On the first day we had a full house and it seems very popular with the audience down here."
A spokesman for Princess Theatre praised the show, claiming it was "packing a real punch".
She said: "Andrew Derbyshire is excellent as Joseph, with a strong singing voice and an engaging comic talent."
© Northcliffe Electronic Publishing Ltd.
This is South Devon Online
JOSEPH'S BACK WITH MORE COLOUR
13 August 2003
Joseph makes a return visit to Torquay and this time his coat's got even more colour.
Theatre review: Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Princess Theatre Torquay For those who haven't indulged in the Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber favourite, Joseph is a vibrant blend of song and dance based on a biblical tale.
His knack for interpreting dreams, his father's favouritism and his nifty coat convince his brothers to hatch a plan to get rid of him.
Joseph gets sold as a slave but his dream-deducing powers save the day, eventually finding fame and fortune after saving Egypt from seven years of famine.
Anyone looking for a historical re-enactment should stay away, any religious threads get lost in a world of make believe and fairy tales.
Andrew Derbyshire takes the helm and gives a strong and powerful interpretation of Joseph.
His claim to fame is getting through to the last 50 on the ITV show Pop Idol.
With his Pop Idol pop music status, Andrew is perfect for this musical in providing popular entertainment at its best.
Andrew gave a commanding performance.
He was very sturdy vocally and coped well with the demanding score.
What I couldn't shake from my mind is that with his blond hair and white outfit he bore an extraordinary and remarkable resemblance to a young Luke Skywalker - the force is strong in this one!
Amanda Claire as the narrator glues the scenes together and puts the audience at ease with the onstage antics.
A full band of brothers, kings and handmaidens support the production well.
The chorus go above and beyond the call of duty in lighting up and supporting a thoroughly good show.
Good directional touches included the Pharaoh King as Elvis, complete with pom-pom waving cheerleaders.
Show stoppers included Go, Go, Go Joseph and Any Dream Will Do.
Yet another melody and rendition of the songs was a little bit too much at the end of the show and could afford to be dropped.
Congratulations to the children from Stagecoach Torquay for their fine vocal backing and for sitting rigidly still for the two-hour performance.
Children in the audience will be entranced with the production - if they haven't seen it then now's the chance.
Joseph runs until August 23 at the Princess Theatre Torquay.
JONPAUL HEDGE
© Northcliffe Electronic Publishing Ltd.
DREAM COME TRUE FOR FANS
28 August 2003
A show which must surely rival the quality of any West End musical is entertaining packed audiences at the Hall For Cornwall this week.
Review by Carolyn Thomas
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat is - for musical lovers like me - simply a dream come true.
It's corny and as camp-as-you-like in places yet as an overall spectacle it is superb.
The extremely talented cast are led by Andrew Derbyshire as Joseph who was thankfully plucked from the Pop Idol programme while in the top 50 by Brian May to be cast in the musical We Will Rock You.
Since then he has not looked back and on Tuesday night he proved he was born to be on the stage - he clearly loved every moment - and so did I.
His stunning voice faultlessly tackled both the raunchy and the poignant numbers and the highlight for me was without doubt his rendition of Close Every Door To Me.
He was backed in this by the Joseph choir of whom special mention must be made.
Around 40 youngsters from the Cornish theatre school Stagecoach deserve a medal for sitting on the stage throughout the whole performance barely moving, just providing some beautifully harmonised backing for the stars. There must have been times then they longed to jump up and join in the action.
Amanda Claire, as narrator, kept the plot - such as it is - rolling along at pace in a demanding singing role and Joseph's 11 brothers had plenty of opportunity to show off their fine voices.
It was refreshing to have a live band in the orchestra pit as I get fed up with professional musical companies relying on backing tracks.
There are plenty of humorous moments and Michael Quinn does a star turn as the Elvis-inspired Pharoah.
Well done to Debbie Harvey who signed the whole show for the deaf on the side of the stage.
© Northcliffe Electronic Publishing Ltd.
