Press Tickets
It was back to the theatre for another show at The Pavilion in Bournemouth this evening. This time it was an amateur dramatics production of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s much loved Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat (autocorrect keeps attempting to change it to Dreamboat). I hadn’t seen the show before and didn’t actually know what the story entailed, so it was nice to go into things with a completely open mind.
I must admit, I was a little unsure if it was the show for me for the first ten minutes or so but, as things progressed, I found myself toe-tapping along (I especially loved Any Dream Will Do). The cast were all really talented, especially the two narrators (Rosalind Lawton and Amy Cave) and Joseph, played by Matt Stockham. The power in their voices was impressive, even up against the West End touring productions I have seen recently (Dirty Dancing and The Bodyguard), and the choir of children were also fantastic, especially for their young ages.
The show is song heavy, as you would expect, and I would say I enjoyed around 80% of the songs, although there were a couple which seemed bizarre including when the brothers sing in a French accent (perhaps I just wasn’t getting the concept of the show, I don’t know). I was really impressed by the costumes, many of which were really sparkly and eye-catching. Joseph’s iconic coat was also pretty fabulous, especially at the end when it became even bigger and full of colours!
The production seemed the perfect length to me, and I found it lovely that there were lots of local faces in the supporting cast (my mum and I both recognised previous colleagues on the stage). One slightly disappointing thing was that we were told we would have a chance to sing and dance along during the final medley but in fact anybody standing up during this last section was, quite rudely, told to sit back down by members of staff. It would have been nice if those in the audience who wanted to stand and dance were encouraged to. Although it didn’t specifically impact me personally, I think it would make a difference for others.
Overall I really enjoyed the evening and would recommend going to see the show whilst it is at The Pavilion (until Saturday evening). It was nice to see fellow bloggers Jonathan and Rachael as well. For an amateur production, I thought it was brilliant and the cast are really talented. The atmosphere was great as there were so many friends and family in supporting the cast. Definitely a fun show to see in Bournemouth this week. You can purchase tickets and find out more information on the theatre’s website.
I was invited along by the production company to share my thoughts on the show, however all words are my own.
