Sheffield Lyceum – until Saturday 12th July 2025
Reviewed by Adam Craddock
3***
In my final trip of the summer to Sheffield Lyceum it was a please to be invited to review the UK Tour of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. The show is one we all know well by now and is an absolute classic of its genre, a particular favourite of my lovely partner too!
Starring Joe McElderry as Pharaoh, this new production was first staged at The London Palladium in June 2019 and has been touring on and off ever since. It features a somewhat stripped back cast, with some notable roles being covered by both the Narrator and the children’s ensemble. I have mixed feelings about how this came off on stage… having a young child playing Potiphar was quite funny and very much fit the primary school production vibe, but it didn’t have the same effect to me when the narrator did the same playing Jacob with a fake beard. I get what they are going for but for me the joke did not land. That isn’t to say the performances were poor at all, just that the intention of the director maybe wasn’t quite what came across on stage.
We were lucky enough to have the fabulous understudy Davide Fienauri on as the eponymous Joseph. Fienauri had a wonderful voice, smooth as caramel when singing the melodic anthem “Any Dream Will Do” and a real soul behind him in the prison scene. His performance of “Close Every Door” gave me goosebumps and had people applauding rapturously. Christina Bianco was fair as Narrator. There were times where I really did enjoy her performance but then other points it did grind on me slightly, with her twangy vocal standing out massively. Joe McElderry was good as Pharaoh, with heaps of energy but just lacking a slight bit of commitment as to how he was playing this character. There were obvious hints at an Elvis like character, but it also seemed like he was playing it as an X Factor style pop star at times, but never fully committing to either way. Both would have been fine in their own rights but the in between fell short slightly. Hugh Cotton was brilliant as Reuben, with a fabulous performance of “One More Angel In Heaven” and Will Haswell was great as Simeon, with exceptional comedic timing and a delicious baritone in “Those Canaan Days”. However the absolute stars of the show for me were the children, all of whom were absolutely fabulous, in particular the young chap who played Potiphar! The children gave massive energy levels all throughout and really made this performance for me, thank you!
In terms of production, the set was absolutely brilliant, with it being bright and vibrant, just like Joseph should be. The feel of a school production carried through the set and props, with the cubes the children sat on and fake beards feeling just like something you would have used at primary school. The sound design and lighting were both great, I particularly liked the use of the horizon on the backdrop.
All in all, while there are some choices in the production that didn’t necessarily land for me, I did have a good night full of nostalgia and came home with a very happy feeling, which to me says it all about this show. Joseph truly is a show for all ages and is the perfect starter for any future theatre fan!