Review: Find out what we thought of the musical Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, by The Centre Stage Company Youth Group, at Haverhill Arts Centre

Having never seen Joseph before or even looked into the storyline I was very much stepping into the unknown when I took my seat at a sold-out Haverhill Arts Centre on Saturday afternoon.

From the moment Oliver Reid (playing the titular role) descended the stairs singing Any Dream Will Do, the tone was set. This, I thought, has got off to a really good start.

And what followed did not let down what was a very impressive opening by the talented young Mr Reid.

Having seen very few musicals in my time, I am not sure if it is commonplace for the story to be told entirely in song, instead of the spoken word, as this production was.

The narrator of the story, in this case Hannah Mizon (she shared the role across the four-day run with Ava Herd) kept the audience up to speed with her lovely voice.

Before I knew it, 45 minutes or so had whizzed by and the interval had arrived. Not even the slightest chance of me even glancing at the time, so wrapped up was I by what was going on on the stage.

We had been treated to a whole host of cracking numbers, shared among the cast, and in some cases allowing some of those with smaller roles to showcase their vocal talents to great effect.

The impressive Theo Ogbhemhe-Smith, who I think has all the talents at his disposal to one-day pursue a professional acting career, shone in every scene.

In particular, his performance when singing a song in an Elvis, rock and roll style, was a real stand-out moment in the show.

The entire supporting cast, those playing Joseph’s 11 brothers and his dad Jacob (Ronnie Barker), the chorus and the wives of the many brothers, held up their part of the deal impressively.

The choreography was as slick and smooth as I can ever recall any Centre Stage show being, so a hats off to the entire cast and to director and choreographer, Victoria Harvey, for ensuring that.

Everyone on stage looked like they were having such a good time.

The band held everything together in impressive style as the storyline progressed to the final scene, which was followed by a rousing ovation from the audience- and it was much-deserved.