Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
*****
Wales Millennium Centre, Sat 18 May
At first glance, you might think, ‘really, Joseph’s on tour once again?’ but of course this isn’t said in disappointment. A night full of laughter, song and dance, to the songs we’ve grown up to love.
For anyone who doesn’t know the story, inspired by the Bible, we follow Joseph, his father Jacob’s favourite son. His eleven brothers, jealous, trick him and sell him on into slavery. Owned by the Pharoah, it’s realised that Joseph has a gift for interpreting dreams, and he rises to become the Pharaoh’s right-hand man. It’s as much a journey learning about family loyalty and brotherhood as it is about forgiveness.
As the overture begins, the audience go silent as they anticipate what’s to come with Trina Hill as the Narrator opening the show’s prologue. It’s apparent as the curtain goes up (as anyone who’s seen the show before will know) that the set has not changed in all the years it has toured. Any Dream Will Do starts and it’s then that we get a feel for this tour’s Joseph, Union J’s Jaymi Hensley. His powerful vocals are immediately present as he entices the audience in and doesn’t let our attention go throughout the performance. He particularly comes into his element with his rendition of Close Every Door, where he proves he’s not just a boy band member. It has to be noted that he could not have done this without the help of Hill’s Narrator, who could not have told the story better through her compassion and again, her incredible vocals.
The show would not be all that it was without the ensemble, however. The choreography couldn’t have been performed better by the brothers in particular who stole the show with their passion and the energy they put into each movement – it kept Joseph and The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat alive. The one critique would be the break between songs, when Pharaoh goes into King Of My Heart. This loses the flow, feeling like an unnecessary song for a show like this however, all can be forgiven as Andrew Geater executes the Elvis impression required of him and has the audience screaming after him.
By the time the finale came, the cast receives a standing ovation. Go, Go, Go Joseph! No seriously, go to the Wales Millennium Centre before the tour leaves Cardiff once again.
words Poppy Manning
Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat is at Wales Millennium Centre until Sat 18 May. Info and tickets here