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Southend Evening Echo

31 May 2004

First Night

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat

at the Cliffs Pavilion, Station Road. Westcliff

by Ed Beavan

Audience danced in the aisles

As a child my family and I spent incessant hours crouched around a record player listening to the Joseph soundtrack, so this theatre visit was a trip down memory lane for me.

Pop Idol reject Andrew Derbyshire played the lead role backed by a strong chorus of brothers, who often carried the performance.

The story was narrated by Amanda Claire, which came as something of a surprise to me as I remember this role being played by a man, and at times she didn't convince me as she struggled to hit the high notes.

One of the highlights of the show was the Elvis-inspired Pharaoh played by Lee Mead, who trained at the Whitehall Performing Arts College in Essex.

Another nice touch was the Australian camel which sympathised with Joseph as he was sold off, and the excellent light show which dazzled the audience.

For the finale the crowd were whipped into a frenzy of dancing in the aisles as a medley of the well known tunes, which even prompted a marriage proposal for the lead actor from a star struck fan. Had I not been taking notes I'd have been dancing along too with the rest of the audience!

A special word of praise must be given to the 30 or so children from the Carmel Thomas Youth Singers who sat still on stage for the whole performance in between their occasional singing, which was impeccably carried out.

"The role is quite demanding, as it's two

shows a day and 10 shows a week, but I love it. "

Northampton Today Online

Andrew set to climb ladder of fame

FRESH from warming up his voice, Andrew Derbyshire is clearly delighted to be playing the lead in Joseph and The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.

Chatting away in his broad Lancashire accent, the 21-year-old is just bubbling over with unaffected enthusiasm for the role. "Doing Joseph is brilliant!" he said.

"The role is quite demanding, as it's two shows a day and 10 shows a week, but I love it.

"I actually did the show when I was a lot younger, in a school production, although then I was one of the brothers. But Joseph is just one of those productions, where everyone knows the music from something like that."

Despite his youth, Andrew may already be familiar to music fans. He was a contestant on Pop Idol and made it to the final 50 before being cast in the hit Queen musical We Will Rock You.

Queen guitarist Brian May and director Chris Renshaw were so impressed with his voice that they made him understudy to the leading role of Galileo, a part he went on to play in more than 100 performances.

"I have been very lucky to have met Brian May," Andrew said. "At the auditions for We Will Rock You he loved the style of my voice and he's kind of like a second dad to me now.

"He's a very, very genuine and normal person and he sees a lot in me, so I've been lucky because he is showing me to the right people. But there's definitely no danger of me getting starry. I have a very northern, down-to-earth family, and they keep me grounded. I have quite a large family and it's nice to go home and for them to be just the same."

Andrew is now working with Brian May on a rock album of his own, which he will concentrate on after he finishes Joseph.

But he was less impressed with his TV stint on Pop Idol. "Pop Idol was nothing to write home about," he laughed. "I was about 17 when I went through the first auditions and I still didn't know quite what I wanted to do, so I thought it would be good.

"But it was all for the cameras you had to be fat or gay or have a stutter or a story, because that was good publicity. If you were just a normal bloke they weren't interested."

Fortunately, he landed parts in musicals, although Andrew said they each required different work. "Joseph is completely different to We Will Rock You. When I trained to be a singer, dancer and actor, I learned technique, and that has been very useful," he said.

"I do like singing rock music, and I had to completely change the style of my voice to do Joseph. It still does have a bit of a rock edge to it, but I like that as it helps me bring something different to the part.

"I know I'm following in some famous footsteps in this role, such as Donny Osmond, Jason Donovan, Philip Schofield. A lot of fans come to the stage door who have seen the show before and it is nice to hear that they think I have done it well.

"It is a different production now; a lot more up to date, with more modern orchestration. The cast is a lot younger and it is a good fun show full of energy, which has the audience up on their feet at the end.

"We get a lot of letters from people who love the show, or say it has cheered them up. There was one girl who had lost her voice and hadn't spoken for about three months, and she came to see Joseph and started speaking. She comes regularly now. Something like that is just amazing and it makes you realise what a special show it is."

Andrew said he first discovered his love of singing at primary school when he was about five years old. "We did a little musical called The Fat Cat, and I played the fat cat, and that was it," he said.

"My mum said I always loved attention when I was younger, and would take any opportunity to get up at family parties!

"I was with a youth theatre for five years and we would do musicals, and I knew I wanted to be on the stage, but to be honest I am still growing as a performer now.

"I'm glad I started with musicals because I have already carved a little name for myself, and I'm only 21. I've met a lot of people in the musical circle, which is always a good thing, but I want to have a career in music. It will be good to fall back on things like this."

In the future, Andrew said his ambitions would be to work with Mick Jagger or with Elton John. But for now, he's happy with his lot. "It's all good," he said. "But I do believe in climbing the ladder, and getting as much experience as you can, and I believe in fate.

"I've got a best friend who I've known for 14 years. He was one of the most talented guys in my college, who won all the awards, and he just can't get work at the moment, and it just makes me wonder.

"There are so many talented people out there that you have to wake up in the morning and just think positive."

It may sound like he has had a charmed life, but it's not all been plain sailing for Andrew. "I've had a few embarrassing moments on stage," he confessed.

"There have been times in Joseph, on the Pyramid, where I have just fallen down the steps during the show, but I just get up and carry on because the audience love it.

"One time my Prince of Egypt gold trousers came undone at the pin and I had to just stand there in the spotlight and sing the rest of the song without moving

"The audience were just wetting themselves!"

04 June 2004