THE Bradfordians theatre group at Bradford on Avon have excelled themselves yet again with their sold-out production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat.

The show opened at St Margaret’s Hall, Bradford on Avon, on Wednesday, February 19 and runs until Sunday, February 23, with matinees on Saturday and Sunday.

By the time the final curtain falls, more than 1,000 people will have seen this sparkling new production of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s classic hit show.

One of the world’s most beloved family musicals, it was originally released as a concept album in 1969, but the multi-award-winning show 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 by professional, amateur and school groups.

The classic family favourite is a dramatic and witty telling of the Bible story about Joseph the dreamer, and his jealous brothers and an ideal choice for the February half-term holiday.

Told entirely through song with the help of the Narrator, the musical comedy follows the story of Jacob’s favourite son Joseph and his 11 brothers. After being sold into slavery by the brothers, he ingratiates himself with Egyptian noble Potiphar but ends up in jail after refusing the advances of Potiphar’s wife.

While imprisoned, Joseph discovers his ability to interpret dreams, and he soon finds himself in front of the mighty but troubled showman, the Pharaoh. As Joseph strives to resolve Egypt’s famine, he becomes Pharaoh’s right-hand man and eventually reunites with his family.

Nominated for seven awards last year alone, The Bradfordians Dramatic Society has built a reputation for putting on productions of the highest quality. Featuring live music and a largely young cast this exciting musical venture is yet another string to their bow and enhances their already high reputation.

The main roles are played by Dora Bishop being suitably vampish as Potiphar’s wife, Gareth Lloyd as Potiphar making a successful come-back to theatre after a two-year break, and 16-year-old Saxon Basson, playing his first role as Joseph outside of youth theatre, having a good singing voice and the looks to go with the part.

Astrid Bishop, as the Narrator, also sang well and kept the action moving along, despite what appeared to be technical problems with her microphone, while Bradfordians’ stalwart Phil Courage as Jacob appeared to enjoy his role as a father of 12 sons, rather than three daughters, one of whom, Kate Courage, was the director/musical director of the show.

I’m loathe to criticize as it’s an amateur production so the following comments are merely observations. The one factor that has ensured Joseph’s popularity with production teams and audiences is the sheer joie de vivre of the songs, in English the cheerful enjoyment of life or exultation of spirit.

Sadly, this production needed slightly more characterization and animation from some of the cast; as it’s a musical comedy the songs lend themselves to ‘hamming it up’ for all your worth, particularly those sung by the Pharoah and Joseph’s brothers. They really demand the actor to belt out the songs and give it their all.

However, despite the technical problems with sound, I enjoyed this vividly colourful production, which has been entered for the Rose Bowl Awards, where the Bradfordians have had previous success.

Joseph has a running time of around 90 minutes including an interval with ice creams available. Sit back and enjoy!