By Tim Saunders
Living in a seemingly godless world it’s heart-warming to watch Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at Theatre Royal Portsmouth, probably the next greatest publicity machine for Christianity after the Bible. This show is now more important than ever for the faith.
This hugely popular musical has been watched by over 200m people globally and is now being performed by the multi award winning Portsmouth Players (in their hundredth year) until Nov 1. There’s no better way of reacquainting yourself or even learning about this important story from Genesis thanks to music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics from Tim Rice that include such hits as Jacob, Jacob and sons.
I watch this performance with my daughters Harriett (15) and Heidi (13) and we clap and sing to these upbeat tunes. It’s a very happy uplifting vibe. This is a celebration of music where the king is Elvis (who else?!), which allows for songs to be sung in his style. Later, others are more Caribbean soul.
“I love the camel,” laughs Harriett, which moves across the stage in a hilariously comical fashion. There’s a good amount of humour throughout.
Of course colour is an essential ingredient here and a striking pyramid made up of squares that change colour is the centrepiece of the stage. It acts as a doorway for the cast and we love how in the French scene this pyramid becomes the vertical tricolour. The cast don their French caps and there’s even a French loaf.
Joseph’s colourful coat is a work of art and seeing it lifted up, almost creating a massive canopy, is quite a sight. Excellent choreography, strong voices from young and not so young – Archie Mac makes a fine Joseph - and costumes all combine to create a highly memorable performance that rightly receives a long standing ovation.
