Bucks &amp; Oxon

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="1000" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/01/JATATD-Adam-Filipe-as-Joseph-c-Tristram-Kenton.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-180272" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/01/JATATD-Adam-Filipe-as-Joseph-c-Tristram-Kenton.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/01/JATATD-Adam-Filipe-as-Joseph-c-Tristram-Kenton-800x800.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/01/JATATD-Adam-Filipe-as-Joseph-c-Tristram-Kenton-400x400.jpg 400w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/01/JATATD-Adam-Filipe-as-Joseph-c-Tristram-Kenton-500x500.jpg 500w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Adam Filipe as Joseph
Picture credit: ©Tristram Kenton</figcaption></figure>



Problems in Israel, economic hardship bringing years of famine and austerity – some things never change, eh? And this latest retelling of Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat, the smash hit West End show that has been performed hundreds of thousands of times, remains as much of an irrepressible delight as when it was first performed to an audience of West London Prep school parents back in 1968.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="639" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/01/JATATD-Company-2-c-Tristram-Kenton.jpg" alt="Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat" class="wp-image-180279" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/01/JATATD-Company-2-c-Tristram-Kenton.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/01/JATATD-Company-2-c-Tristram-Kenton-800x511.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/01/JATATD-Company-2-c-Tristram-Kenton-400x256.jpg 400w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Picture credit: ©Tristram Kenton</figcaption></figure>



Here&#8217;s a quick recap for those who haven&#8217;t watched Joseph in recent memory. It was written by a young Andrew Lloyd Webber (music) and Tim Rice (lyrics), both barely out of school themselves at the time, as a musical entertainment for the Barnes Prep school Colet Court (now St Paul&#8217;s Juniors). Fate (or Divinity?) took a hand, because the pop and jazz critic of the Sunday Times, Derek Jewell, was a parent of one of the singing schoolboys and gave it a glowing review in that weekend&#8217;s paper.



Production after production followed due to popular demand, and the coat of many colours has since been worn by everyone from H from Steps to Gareth Gates. At its box office-smashing 1991 peak at the London Palladium, Jason Donovan alternated the title role with Philip Scofield each night (let&#8217;s hope the loin cloth had a good wash between performances).



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="612" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/01/JATATD-Company-5-c-Tristram-Kenton.jpg" alt="Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat" class="wp-image-180282" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/01/JATATD-Company-5-c-Tristram-Kenton.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/01/JATATD-Company-5-c-Tristram-Kenton-800x490.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/01/JATATD-Company-5-c-Tristram-Kenton-400x245.jpg 400w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Picture credit: ©Tristram Kenton</figcaption></figure>



It&#8217;s now the turn of rising star Adam Filipe to don the dreamcoat in the latest London Palladium production on tour at the <a href="https://www.atgtickets.com/shows/joseph-and-the-amazing-technicolor-dreamcoat/new-theatre-oxford/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">New Theatre Oxford</a>, following a run in Edinburgh. Think The Hangover meets the book of Genesis, or a Bible study group&#8217;s road trip to Vegas, and you&#8217;ll get the vibe. Directed by Laurence Connor, whose CV includes Chess, School of Rock and Miss Saigon, this iteration is a fun, sexy blast though the Old Testament tale with plenty of razzle dazzle to lift the gloom on a bleak January night. Can-can dancers in Canaan and sexy Egyptian handmaidens channelling Beyonce? Step this way for a mash-up of musical styles from calypso to country, showtunes whose zing refuses to be dimmed, and enough gold Lamé to keep 4,000 Pharaohs happy in the afterlife.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="660" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/01/JATATD-Company-3-c-Tristram-Kenton.jpg" alt="Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat" class="wp-image-180280" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/01/JATATD-Company-3-c-Tristram-Kenton.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/01/JATATD-Company-3-c-Tristram-Kenton-800x528.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/01/JATATD-Company-3-c-Tristram-Kenton-400x264.jpg 400w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Picture credit: ©Tristram Kenton</figcaption></figure>



So, where to begin? How about way, way back many centuries ago (is this sounding familiar yet?), when Joseph, Jacob&#8217;s favourite son, is sold into slavery in Egypt by his 11 jealous brothers via a tribe of hairy Ishmaelites. As you can imagine, things don&#8217;t go well for Joseph. After being seduced by the wife of his new master Potiphar (played to great theatrical effect by a child actor), Joseph is thrown into jail. At rock bottom, he&#8217;s in chains surrounded by rats. Cue a mournful rendition of perhaps the show&#8217;s best-loved hit, Close Every Door, accompanied beautifully by the children&#8217;s chorus.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="1000" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/01/JOSEPH.jpg" alt="Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat" class="wp-image-180452" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/01/JOSEPH.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/01/JOSEPH-800x800.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/01/JOSEPH-400x400.jpg 400w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/01/JOSEPH-500x500.jpg 500w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure>



But he&#8217;s not beaten yet. Turns out Joseph has a knack for interpreting dreams, and with a bit of encouragement from the chorus dressed as cheerleaders (go, go, go Joseph!) he plays his get-out-of-jail card, the dreamcoat is back ON, and he&#8217;s hired as economic adviser to Pharaoh, played with suitable swagger (and then some) by Alex Woodward, who channels Vegas-era Elvis brilliantly in Song of the King.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="766" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/01/JATATD-Christina-Bianco-as-Narrator-c-Tristram-Kenton.jpg" alt="Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat" class="wp-image-180277" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/01/JATATD-Christina-Bianco-as-Narrator-c-Tristram-Kenton.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/01/JATATD-Christina-Bianco-as-Narrator-c-Tristram-Kenton-800x613.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/01/JATATD-Christina-Bianco-as-Narrator-c-Tristram-Kenton-400x306.jpg 400w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Christina Bianco as the Narrator. Picture credit: ©Tristram Kenton</figcaption></figure>



Adam Filipe (West End credits include We Will Rock You and West Side Story) wears the many-coloured mantle of Joseph with panache, with a superb singing voice and the chutzpah to carry off a gilded loin cloth in the depths of winter. Full marks too to Christina Bianco as the Narrator, who sings in every scene (and doubles up as Potiphar&#8217;s randy wife) without ever seeming to flag. She even pulls off a tap dance. And although Joseph has his name up in lights here, the show is nothing without the ensemble cast. I loved the 11 brothers, whose rendition of Those Canaan Days as beret-wearing Frenchmen brought the house down. Last but by no means least, the children&#8217;s chorus, made up of young talent from stage schools, were complete pros.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="692" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/01/JATATD-Company-7-c-Tristram-Kenton.jpg" alt="Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat" class="wp-image-180275" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/01/JATATD-Company-7-c-Tristram-Kenton.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/01/JATATD-Company-7-c-Tristram-Kenton-800x554.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/01/JATATD-Company-7-c-Tristram-Kenton-400x277.jpg 400w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Picture credit: ©Tristram Kenton</figcaption></figure>



The tale of Joseph is told entirely through song with the help of the Narrator, and the lyrics by Tim Rice carry the story through the eternal themes of triumph against the odds, love and hate, and forgiveness and optimism. Even if you haven&#8217;t watched Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat before, songs like Any Dream Will Do, There&#8217;s One More Angel in Heaven and Jacob and Sons will feel comfortingly familiar – and as pin-sharp and funny as the day Rice and Lloyd Webber wrote them. The musical numbers sweep the audience through to the happy conclusion and a riotous megamix as the finale. On opening night in Oxford, some 57 years since it was first performed, Joseph still brought the house to its feet.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-muddy-verdict">THE MUDDY VERDICT</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="653" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/01/JATATD-Company-1-c-Tristram-Kenton.jpg" alt="Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat" class="wp-image-180278" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/01/JATATD-Company-1-c-Tristram-Kenton.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/01/JATATD-Company-1-c-Tristram-Kenton-800x522.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/01/JATATD-Company-1-c-Tristram-Kenton-400x261.jpg 400w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Picture credit: ©Tristram Kenton</figcaption></figure>



Good for: Anyone who could use a dose of old-school showbiz to brighten a bleak winter&#8217;s night (so anyone, really). Like the best art forms, Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat gets better with age – perhaps the NHS should prescribe a regular Joseph fix to banish the blues. 



Not for: This 1968 show is of its time, and edgy theatre it ain&#8217;t. Chekhov fans will find its relentless upbeat pop too middle of the road.



Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat is on at the New Theatre Oxford until Sat 11 Jan. <a href="https://www.atgtickets.com/shows/joseph-and-the-amazing-technicolor-dreamcoat/new-theatre-oxford/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Book tickets here</a>.



Words: Harriet Dennys

Review: Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat, New Theatre Oxford

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