3 - 8 September 2001 Manchester Opera House Returning once again to Manchester, this perennial musical hit suffers here, despite the enthusiasm of an energetic and youthful cast, from its obviously low budget production, some dated choreography and its less than spectacular staging. In the title rôle, Glen Drake exhibits many of the qualities brought to the part by his predecessors, whilst at the same time managing to develop from them a performance that is very much his own; a difficult task in such a famous show. His pleasing voice copes admirably with the myriad of well-known tunes, and his handsome physique is entirely suited to the famous loincloth, which he wears with suitably apt aplomb. In contrast, Aura Deva is completely miscast in the pivotal role of the Narrator; her voice consistently fails to meet the demands of Lloyd Webber's wide-ranging score and her stage presence, whilst reasonably well developed, lacks the sense of continuity necessitated by the part. Furthermore, she is hampered throughout by a ridiculously large hand-held microphone, which is one of many design problems displayed in this production; others include seemingly uninspired costumes, a static set and overly fussy lighting. Perhaps the most surprising success of the show is the now traditional chorus of children; though on stage throughout the entire performance, they never once detract from the central focus of the action, and the accompaniment they provide to many of the songs is both accurate and lively; they mirror perfectly the enthusiasm of the adult members of the cast. Whilst often inappropriate to make comparisons, it has to be said that this production falls significantly short of the spectacle and high production standards offered in the recent Really Useful Group version, which starred Jason Donovan, Phillip Schofield and Darren Day successively. However, despite the bad points of this particular presentation, Joseph is an infectious show, and its first night audience roared with constant approval through endless encores; but then perhaps this was more the result of habit rather than considered judgement. Reviewed by Neil Eckersley for Manchester on Stage. © Manchester on Stage 2001 |
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This is Cornwall Online Hall for Cornwall, Truro Review by Zoe Mills 23 August 2001 Faultless. That's how I would describe this performance. The Biblical story of Joseph was re-told in a dazzling production packed with non-stop action, laughter and toe-tapping tunes, which ensured a capacity audience. The colourful performance included a spectacular set, amazing costumes and surprises throughout, including a performance by Elvis, also known as Pharaoh, who had the audience singing on their feet. The entire show was full of eye-opening renditions, from a fire-eater to Joseph's coat, which alone cost £10,000. Even the fact that the company stage manager, Tim Anscombe, took over the roles of Jacob and Potiphar at the last minute, due to the main cast member suffering from appendicitis, didn't affect the performance in any way. Joining the production were 40 local children from Stagecoach theatre art school, ageing between 6 and 14, who gave a wonderful performance as the chorus. Although I'm not the greatest fan of musicals, I found Glen Drake's performance as Joseph amazing, sending shivers up and down my spine. Speaking with Glen earlier in the day, he told me he didn't really know what to expect from a Cornish audience. At the end of the show, however, he commented on what a fantastic audience we had been. I cannot argue with that, as the young girl sat next to me sang every word of the show from start to finish, and the whole arena was on its feet dancing at the end of the show. © Westcountry Publications Ltd. |
BBC Bristol Online The Hippodrome, Bristol, 24th - 29th September 2001 Glen Drake is a handsome and charismatic Joseph Many of us are familiar with Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical of the life of Joseph and his coat of many colours. Even I, a relative musical philistine, took part in a junior school production of this biblical tale, and still remember some of the songs. I've even seen the Donny Osmond version - yes there is such a beast - on video. But The Hippodrome's latest production, starring Kiwi, Glen Drake, is a beast of a completely different colour. The wonderful bouncy songs are all there, though many with a slightly different tempo than I recall, but the interpretation of the story, and the whole attitude of the production is much more fun than I remember. For those of you who don't know the story, it is set in biblical Egypt and tells the tale of Joseph, one of 12 brothers. Jacob and sons Beloved by his father, Joseph's brothers are not so enamoured of him, particularly as he keeps having strange dreams in which he is basically top-dog and his brothers have to look up to him. The brothers (dressed in highly fetching dungarees with their initials on) become increasingly fed up with Joseph lording it over them. Their father Jacob even gives him a natty little multi-coloured number to wear instead of the regulation sheepskin. This is too much for the brothers. They decide to do Joseph in, and when the opportunity arises to make a bit of money at the same time, they sell him as a slave. Naturally the story doesn't end there. Joseph fights his way back and thanks to his ability to interpret dreams, saves Egypt from famine, becomes rich and famous and is finally re-united with his family. A feel-good story then with some great music. There are even children to keep the aah factor high with the chorus provided by youngsters from the Bristol Stage School. Joseph has a royal audience with "the King" But any musical is only as good as its performers, and we have some talented ones here. Glen Drake as Joseph is handsome and charismatic with a very nice voice. The brothers too are played very well, in a motley and dishevelled way, and the Pharaoh/Elvis, played at the last minute by Andy Lingfield because of illness, was excellent. But the voice of this production was definitely that of the narrator, Aura Deva. Diminutive in stature she may be, and although she sometimes looked a little lost on the big Hippodrome stage Aura certainly showed she can belt out a tune. By the end of the production the audience were up and singing and dancing along with the cast - what better praise can there be for any musical. Caron Parsons ©copyright BBC 2001 |
3 - 8 September 2001 Manchester Opera House Returning once again to Manchester, this perennial musical hit suffers here, despite the enthusiasm of an energetic and youthful cast, from its obviously low budget production, some dated choreography and its less than spectacular staging. In the title rôle, Glen Drake exhibits many of the qualities brought to the part by his predecessors, whilst at the same time managing to develop from them a performance that is very much his own; a difficult task in such a famous show. His pleasing voice copes admirably with the myriad of well-known tunes, and his handsome physique is entirely suited to the famous loincloth, which he wears with suitably apt aplomb. In contrast, Aura Deva is completely miscast in the pivotal role of the Narrator; her voice consistently fails to meet the demands of Lloyd Webber's wide-ranging score and her stage presence, whilst reasonably well developed, lacks the sense of continuity necessitated by the part. Furthermore, she is hampered throughout by a ridiculously large hand-held microphone, which is one of many design problems displayed in this production; others include seemingly uninspired costumes, a static set and overly fussy lighting. Perhaps the most surprising success of the show is the now traditional chorus of children; though on stage throughout the entire performance, they never once detract from the central focus of the action, and the accompaniment they provide to many of the songs is both accurate and lively; they mirror perfectly the enthusiasm of the adult members of the cast. Whilst often inappropriate to make comparisons, it has to be said that this production falls significantly short of the spectacle and high production standards offered in the recent Really Useful Group version, which starred Jason Donovan, Phillip Schofield and Darren Day successively. However, despite the bad points of this particular presentation, Joseph is an infectious show, and its first night audience roared with constant approval through endless encores; but then perhaps this was more the result of habit rather than considered judgement. Reviewed by Neil Eckersley for Manchester on Stage. © Manchester on Stage 2001 |
