On Thursday the 29th of July, it was the final show of my ‘Classics’ Week! This time for Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat at the London Palladium! This show was so vibrant and fun! Who doesn’t like a bit of Joseph? Let’s Dive in!
Returning to the lead role was Jac Yarrow, who had only grown into the role since we saw him back in 2019! Throughout the show, he was there with a massive smile on his face, you could tell that he was beaming to be back on that stage and performing again. His rendition of Close Every Door To Me was again, the standout moment of the show; Jac this song with so much emotion that the audience is captivated and in awe of his storytelling. Jac is such a perfect choice for this role, he brings so much energy and life to Joseph, it really makes you love the character more! He has got to be one of the best young performers in the West End! Jac is a pure joy to watch and is 1000% going to be a West End star in the years to come!
Next up and new to their role is Alexandra Burke as The Narrator. I thought Alexandra did a great job in this role and I really warmed to her throughout the musical! She brought a lot of fun and heart to the story with the way she told it, like Jac she was up there with a massive smile on her face and you could tell that she was happy to be on that stage. I thought she interacted with both the adult and younger cast onstage well, involving them whenever she could, as well as making it fun/easy for the audience. I thought she had strong vocals and projected the songs really well. I’d class her standout moment as either ‘Poor Poor Joseph’, ‘Who’s The Theif’ or ‘Pharaohs Story’. Besides her singing, I thought Alexandra was also great at dancing in the musical! She joined in with the brothers for the dancing a lot of the time and definitely held her own! Especially for the tap-dancing early in on in the musical. Overall I thought Alexandra did a great job as the narrator!
Jason Donovan also returned in his role as The Pharoah! Like Jac, I thought he had also grown and felt more settled in this role from when I saw him in 2019! Whilst I wasn’t sure about his Pharoah in 2019, he was definitely better; he was less flat although I had the same issues with either tiredness or issues with the microphone/Jason’s diction where I couldn’t always understand what he was singing – probably a bit of both if we’re honest 😂. I also felt a lot of his things were dragged out for laughs, I guess this depends on the audience of each show and how they’re reacting, but I did find it tiring by the 3rd ‘unscripted’ laughing session. Whilst I enjoyed his performance I’d class him as one of the weaker parts of this musical.
I thought the Ensemble/Brothers within this show were all really strong performers and incredible dancers! some of their standout moments have got to be ‘One More Angel’ and ‘Those Cannan Days’, those were such pleasing and fun musical numbers to both listen to and watch! Strong vocals and strong dancing what’s not to love?! Whilst Joseph always brings big names into the musical, I think the ensemble is just as special and most of the time stronger than those names so why don’t they get the appreciation they deserve?! They deserve it! Some other standout moments have got to be Joseph’s Coat and Go Go Go Joseph, they’re always so much fun to watch with the bright and vibrant set! One thing Joseph always excels at is big colourful numbers and this production was no different!
Overall
Whilst I’m not going to be rushing back to Joseph anytime soon, I thought this was a really fun musical and it would be perfect for a child’s first musical! It’s fun, bright and you know what you’re getting when you go to see Joseph. This show had a great cast and was enjoyable! If you have young kids or want to see a happy classic, I’d definitely recommend getting tickets for Joseph before it closes on the 5th of September!
katy Panayiotides
24th August 2021It must be amazing to be back in the theatre again!
Like you said about some of the actors had grown into their roles, I think you’re writing has also grown. Finding negatives without being disrespectful isn’t easy, well done!