“Joseph & The Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat”

Nottingham Arts Theatre.

The classic Andrew Lloyd-Webber/Tim Rice musical gets given the more traditional treatment. I think it is great that you can see two different productions of the same musical, both different and both so enjoyable in their differences, and that is the sign of the quality of local theatre we have in the East Midlands.

I’m not going to give you a precis of the story as everyone knows the story, so I’m just going to go for the performance.

Playing Joseph is seventeen year old Louis Barnes-cupit in his first leading role that I've seen Louis in. Louis is a very confident performer who shows that he enjoys being on stage and being the leading man. He has strong vocals which will be more powerful, the bigger singing roles he gets. He is good at the comedy parts and even shows a penchant for choreography, including tap. Louis is a very likeable actor and that likeability shines through in his performance.

Ably supporting Louis in the roles of the brothers are Sophie Benner (Isaacher), Zach Silcox (Asher), Bertie Solbe (Levi), Xenia Smith (Dan), Carys Davis (Judah), Jason Thompson (Gad), Bria Spencer (Benjamin), Lily Palmer (Napthtali), Abi Skinner (Simeon), Amy May Beach (Zebulun) and Dom Mills (Reuben). Playing Jacob was Emma Pettiford.

Two young actors really stood out for me in this production. Mason Hart (Pharoah) really embodied the role of the "King" and delivered a wonderfully entertaining version of "Song Of the King", and I think Mason is a young actor to watch out for as I think he could turn out to be a very versatile and entertaining asset to many productions and roles. And how he managed to walk in those boots I will never know!

The second young man was wonderful William Woolley who played Potiphar. Bursting with confidence, and for a such a young actor, he stamped his mark on this role. William is only about three foot tall but stood tall with his confident delivery and star quality. What made his part even more comical was Mrs Potiphar was played by Bertie Solbe who looked to be about six foot tall! A wonderfully off the wall casting of the pair. By the way I also loved William's final costume which resembled something like the suit Austin Powers wore; blue crushed velvet and frilly white shirt baby!

Now, why have one narrator when you can have five. Holly Jewitt Maurice, Hattie Campion, Chloe Chapman, Jasmine Warder and Francesca Lewis. What a gorgeous sound this quintet made when they all sang together, as well as some equally gorgeous solos.

The whole cast delivered an energy packed performance.

There were touches of panto with the equivalent of the pantomime horse, this time though with the camel, who for some reason did a tap duet with Joseph, which I assume was to cover for a major set change, as I've never seen a tap-dancing camel and Joseph and wasn't quite sure why it was there until I saw the set change and then the penny dropped.

Now I know that a band is not cheap to hire and pay for, and I am not a massive fan of pre-recorded "karaoke-style" backing tracks for several reasons. One that they can come across as clipped at start and end and also you can sometimes hear the musical cues to the actors, which we did tonight. That said, this is the first proper show performed inside the Arts Theatre for what must be nigh on eighteen months so there has been no revenue coming in to fund the shows so you do what you have to do to get those actors on stage, those bums back on seats and the money rolling in again.

Musical Director is Ray Samuel Mcleod, the production was Directed by the now almost legendary Maggie Andrew, along with her son, Gizmo. Loved the choreography from Xenia "Miss" Smith. The Lighting and Sound by Oliver Read and Sam Windle. The sound on the whole was really good but there were just a few moments , like in the "Close Every Door" scene where I could only just hear the backing choir behind Louis' vocals, and a section where I could see Louis singing but couldn't hear him.

My only other bugbear is when there are gaps on stage and the audience is left wondering what is happening and there were a couple of these "empty" spots which could do with tweaking and tightening up, but maybe I notice these more than anyone else because I am looking out for them. After all it's a big cast and not an easy job for the stage managers to make sure the kids are on stage or where they should be at any particular time. Not a job I'd like to undertake given the volume of the cast.

The costume team of Maggie Andrew, Jennie Klyman and June Andrew excelled themselves with every costume. I loved the long flowing multi coloured coat for Joseph and Pharoah's costume especially.

I've mentioned some of the really strong singers earlier and even more emerged in the song "Benjamin Calypso". I apologise for not having the two lead singers' names who started this song, but they really surprised me with their great tone and power. Cracking job done there lads!

Can I also just mention, as a final note, that I love the eye-catching programme, designed by Mike Pearson. Even though it's a freebie, please donate, even if it is just £1, just to boost the coffers. Think how much extra this company would get if every single person who saw the show gave just £1 for the programme alone.

This show is great fun, it's frothy, it's high energy and it's just great to be back at the Arts Theatre again, and lovely to see that stage full of shining stars again. A massive "well done" to everyone involved. It's good to be back!

“Joseph & The Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat” is at the Nottingham Arts Theatre until Saturday 18 September.