Joseph and The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat

From its humble beginnings as a 15 minute pop cantata in 1968 Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber's 'Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat' became a global phenomenon, and the songs that I first remember singing at primary school have gone on to be performed by over 20,000 schools and amateur theatre groups. The stage show almost became a permanent fixture in London's West End after its initial run in 1973, and was followed by numerous revivals, and with stars like Jason Donovan and Donny Osmond starring in the title role. It was therefore quite exciting to finally see the show performed live in Norwich, with the latest touring production, presented by Michael Harrison Entertainment, arriving at Norwich Theatre Royal this week.

Make no mistake, this is a stunning and spectacular production, with colourful, brightly-lit sets, magnificent costumes and a huge cast of singers and dancers. Lighting up the stage as Joseph is seasoned West End star Adam Filipe, whose energy and obvious understanding of the role certainly seems to carry the audience along. His showstopping delivery of 'Close Every Door' just before the end of Act One is a real 'hairs on the back of the neck' moment. We also warm quickly to Christina Bianco, the American actor who plays Narrator. Not only does she display impressive vocal versatility, and handle all the dance moves with expert precision, but she also manages to wrangle the large troupe of children in the cast whilst making sure that she never puts a foot wrong herself. All the supporting cast are excellent, but it is Alex Woodward as Pharaoh who really steals Act Two with his Las Vegas style delivery of 'Song of The King', complete with a pair of hand-jiving Anubis and a troupe of American cheerleaders.

Does 'Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat' stand the test of time? Well, the currently tense situation in the Middle East remains a small thorn in the story's side, and with this production still pulling several elements of American and European culture into the show ('Jacob and Sons' has an almost Appalachian hoedown feel to it; 'Go, Go Joseph' seems to go slightly Cockney at one point; and the Brothers' delivery of 'Those Canaan Days' bizarrely morphs into a Parisian can-can dance number) accusations of cultural misappropriation may still be muttered by some.