“Joseph & The Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat” by Erewash Musical Society Youth Group
Duchess Theatre, Long Eaton.

There can’t be many people who do not know this Andrew Lloyd-Webber/Tim Rice musical as it’s such a staple of schools and local theatre productions. Because of this, it means that I can get straight on to telling you all about this wonderful cast and the production of this show.

From the moment the curtains opened it was like a tsunami of energy swamping the theatre. Energy you could light the room with.

There were quite a few new members in this performance and I always make a point of watching faces that i have nor seen before and you know what. Every actor was performing. That may seem a strange thing to say but when you have new members and the show is ensemble heavy, you may spot the odd actor "going through the newbie motions". Not in this show!

The performance value from every member of this cast and the energy and excitement was clear to see and they all looked like they were the stars because they were enjoying what they were doing, and that for a reviewer and audience member was an absolute joy to see.

As I said this show is an ensemble piece and the choreographed pieces as well as the vocal pieces proved what a great ensemble show this is.

The two narrators, Emily Bridge and Grace Deakin were perfect choices and their voices were pure and powerful.

James Christian played Jacob, Joseph's father, and I must compliment the physicality he put into this role, something that often does not come naturally to such young performers, but James smashed it.

Playing the brothers were Ethan Fletcher (Reuben), Joe Langley (Simeon), Robyn Oleshico (Levi), Oli Nickling (Naphtali), Ben Kirkland (Isaachar), Paige Bail (Asher), Evan Hagan (Dan), Joel Dawson (Zebulum), Tom Baddiley (Gad), Ewan Hoole (Benjamin) and Bethan Moore (Judah). Every one gave 110%.

Playing the main man was Ethan Lee and as soon as I saw that Ethan was playing this role I just knew that this was another perfect casting. Vocal wise he was spot on and he has that certain confidence and stage presence which makes this role magnetic to watch. Joseph, although billed as the "star" is quite arrogant and Ethan managed to play this characteristic in quite an innocent way, which I thought came across really well.

Will Robbins played Potiphar, husband to Mrs Potiphar, who I can'r see mentioned in the programme, but gave a lovely age appropriated version of the seducing wife with comedy.

Pharaoh was played by Gabryl Oleshko and while he carried off the swagger of the Pharoah King, it was just a shame that his mic failed and we didn't get to hear Gabryl's voice and the comedy in Tim Rice's lyrics.

This was a problem that cropped up more than once and we lost some of the vocals with Ethan as well. This turned out to be the mic packs and while it may have slightly tainted the show, these actors carried on professionally throughout.

Sound also became a slight problem because of where the band were positioned. The eight piece band positioned at the front of the stage area created a wall of sound that often swamped the singers. The band itself were solid, and can I say great to see a female drummer in Emily Hall.Musically directed by Heather Howe.

This also has to be one of the rare musicals where every single song is known and loved. With the music being practically non stop, the band did a cracking job as they also didn't get a rest until the interval.

The lighting was wonderfully designed and presented by Dave Martin, Dave Dallard and Matthew Cook, making this exciting visually.

Produced and Directed by Carol Lawson, she has succeeded in presenting one hell of a brilliant and pacy show. There's a certain modern feel to the look of the show as well mainly I feel from the costumes and look of some of the brothers, this and the addition of the footballs at the start, tying nicely in with the current World Cup. After all that is what brothers do today so whose to say they didn't do that in Joseph's day!!

The choreography was great fun and I could see that a lot of hard work had gone into this area from not only choreographer Hattie Kemish but also the whole cast.

This musical is non stop and many of the cast are practically on stage almost all of the time so will be an energy endurance piece for them, but the looks on the cast's faces backstage afterwards showed me that they loved every minute of what they did. that I can confirm was mirrored by the very enthusiastic and supportive audience.

It's one of the best Lloyd-Webber/Rice pieces of theatre and this brilliant cast certainly did the writers credit, as well as the EMUS proud.

“Joseph & The Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat” is at The Duchess Theatre until Saturday 30 June 2018. Thursday was a sell out so get your tickets while you can.