Joseph & The Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat review*****: a joyful show with a wonderful sprinkling of Osmond magic

The musical may be nudging 50 and have its roots as a humble school concert, but this 2024 refresh of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s debut work is simply wonderful; utterly, joyous, fizzing with energy and pitched perfectly for the Christmas audiences currently packing out the Playhouse Theatre.

Oh, and it has Donny Osmond in a glorious cameo as the Pharoah to take the second half to even greater heights.

Adding a star headliner doesn’t always deliver all you hope for. In Donny’s case it is more than just the icing on a cake - he is sensational, giving his role everything and working the audience with effortless ease and incredible charm. They were up and out of their seats in the merest hope of catching the scarf he threw from the stage.

The warmth, and extent of the ovation is why his name is above the door for this fantastic touring version of Joseph, but the entire cast is perfect and it delivers something really, really special.

Press night saw understudy Charley Warburton sizzle as the Narrator who sits at the very heart of this story, telling the story of Joseph and the brothers who make him an outcast. Her personality shone through from the very start, giving this show a real buzz from curtain up.

Adam Filipe was truly outstanding as Joseph, and his rendition of Close Every Door was a real showstopper, while the entire cast of brothers were superb, with the young children brought into the very heart of the story from the opening scene more than held their own.

Everything about director Laurence Connor’s version of ‘Joseph’ is superb; from the technicolour set design of Morgan Large to choreography of Joann M. Hunter to the orchestra led by conductor, John Rigby whose gleeful exuberance summed up the sense of glee which ran through the evening, and helped to draw in every single member of the audience.

I’ve seen previous ‘Joseph’ shows but none of them came remotely close to matching the standard set by this version - a genuine five-star, must see show that is perfect for this time of year.