Theatre

London’s West End is full of theatres and opportunities to experience some of the best theatre productions in the world. Musicals have always been a preference of mine when attending the theatre and one of the classic musicals would be ‘Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat’ by Andrew Lloyd Webber. This musical had huge success in the 1990s and underwent a major reproduction in 2007 after the hit BBC television series, ‘Any Dream Will Do.’ In this programme Lee Mead was chosen by the British public to play the role of Joseph in this new production. Below is a clip from this show when he was announced the winner and performed one of the songs from the musical.


After having huge success in the West End, Lee Mead was replaced in February 2009 by Gareth Gates, and I was fortunate to attend the one of the shows a few weeks after this replacement had occurred.

This production takes place at the Adelphi Theatre, situated in the Strand area of London. This theatre can seat approximately 1500 people and has been the setting to many popular musicals such as Sunset Boulevard, Chicago and Evita. Full details of previous productions and the history of the theatre can be found on its website: http://www.adelphitheatre.co.uk/index.htm

Once entering the theatre I was amazed at the large size and the amount of people that filled the theatre. On the evening that I attended the theatre was nearly full and the atmosphere was full of excitement. As soon as the music began and the lights dimmed the audience became silent and there was full attention to the stage once the cast entered.

The music was full of energy and the choreography was brilliant, there were moments when I was in shock from what I had just seen and it made me realise that a lot of rehearsals and preparation had taken place in order for this to happen. The show was relatively short compared to many other musicals and this was a good thing considering that this musical was considered to be a family show and there were many young children in the audience.

The success of this production is due to many factors, such as the variety of music which provides lots of energy, as well as the choreography. The acting was excellent as the cast grabbed the attention of the audience throughout and made the story realistic. I feel that using relatively unknown cast members, with the exception of the lead role, made the story more enjoyable and the acting very exciting. Details of the cast can be found on the official Joseph website where you can also purcahse tickets: http://www.josephthemusical.com/?gclid=CILIurixnpoCFRSRZgodQWgv-A

The use of props and scenery used added to the comical aspect of the production and assisted the text and story. The lighting used was also every effective in conveying the different moods of the story.

Overall this production was well received by the audience and I think that it was one of the best musicals that I have seen, and there have been quite a few! After the show the cast returned to perform a ‘mega mix’ of songs from the musical and this was a great addition to the production as it was extremely upbeat and the dancing on the stage was very impressive and this encouraged many people in the audience to stand up and dance in the aisles of the theatre. This was the best way to end the production as everyone left the theatre having experienced a great piece of theatre that was very memorable.