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Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat at The London Palladium starring Linzi Hateley, Jac Yarrow and Jason Donovan. (18/8/21 Matinee)
On my London trip, I was lucky enough to see the wonderful Linzi Hateley reprising her role of the Narrator in Joseph at the London Palladium, alongside Jac Yarrow in the title role, and Jason Donovan playing the pharaoh!
Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat is one of the world’s most beloved family musicals. The incredible collaboration between Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, which will leave you singing the songs in your head for days. Joseph has been performed hundreds of thousands of times including multiple runs in the West End and on Broadway, international tours and productions in over 80 countries!
The lavish set and stunning costumes were truly something else, upon the curtain rising everything felt so magical, which is exactly how Joseph should be! His stunning coat of many colours did not disappoint, so major props to Morgan Large for the wonderful set and costume design!
I felt that the new use of the children from the cast as brothers, and in other roles throughout the show, was a bold choice - yet it added a new aspect of fun to the show as they brought so much comedy and energy to their parts. This was wonderful to see and will, in my opinion, inspire a whole new set of young performers after seeing children like them perform in such a classic show.
Linzi Hateley definitely stole the show for me though…
As soon as Linzi appeared onstage the whole audience erupted into applause, before she had even sung a note! This shows Linzi’s popularity and the excitement that the audience felt seeing her reprising her famous role 30 years later. I even had a little tear in my eye, which is not uncommon, but it was amazing to see Linzi back in Joseph. Throughout the show Linzi played not only the narrator but Jacob and Potiphar’s wife too, which I thought was an interesting choice but Linzi played this so well and had the audience in hysterics! Her final bow had the audience cheering and whooping, which was so well deserved. I could say so much more about Linzi’s performance, and if you want to hear it, let me know… but for now I’ll keep it brief!
Jac Yarrow in the title role of ‘Joseph’ which he made his West End Debut performing back in 2019 alongside Jason Donovan and Sheridan Smith, was wonderful! Jac’s voice is so smooth and he plays the role so beautifully. When Jac sang Joseph’s big number towards the end of act one (‘Close every door to me’) I literally got chills! Jac is such a strong vocalist and I can’t wait to see him take the next steps in his career following on from playing such an amazing role.
Jason Donovan as the Pharaoh holds such a commanding stage presence, and the audience loved his character! Jason also got a huge applause upon his entry to the stage, which was expected as he has a huge fanbase. Unfortunately though, the pharaoh only appears in Act 2 for a very short time and then returns for the Megamix and bows and therefore he doesn’t get too much stage time, but the time he did have was filled with laughs and cheers!
The rest of the ensemble was filled with amazing talent, who helped to bring the Joseph magic we all know and love. We saw this especially during ‘Those Canaan Days’ and ‘Go Go Go Joseph’ which were definitely crowd pleasers, judging by the applause they received! There were lots of new dance-breaks in the show too, which I thought were beautifully choreographed by Joann M. Hunter and wonderfully performed by the cast.
Finally, the sound design was incredibly done, bringing new little touches to the show and yet keeping close to the original material which we all know and love! The orchestra was absolutely amazing too! They had the audience clapping along for the Entr’acte at the beginning of Act 2, which was brilliant and showed appreciation for the orchestra and conductor, which I think is often left unexpressed!
Overall, I think that this production of Joseph is fantastic! It is different from other productions, which may be why some people are unsure of it. However, as a HUGE fan of Joseph, and even working on the marketing team of the Lockdown virtual highlights concert version of the show... I can assure you that it is wonderful, fresh, and fun! You must see it! Either before it closes on the West End, or its upcoming tour!
You can find more info here on their website: https://www.josephthemusical.com/
Robbie Davies | Robbie’s Backstage Bants
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