Joseph, Rob and a large shoe

I raced back from Madrid on Friday evening in time for an evening at the theatre. Garry had secured some discounted tickets in the front row, centre stage, for Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat in West End. I first saw this production in 1978 when it was staged by the Hamilton Operatic Society in New Zealand. The role of Joseph was played by the late Rob Guest.

The current West End production is the third such revival. The role of Joseph was originally chosen by a national vote as part of a reality TV show broadcast in June 2007. The winner, Lee Mead, when on complete a popular 12-month contract. Gareth Gates, a Pop Idol runner-up, is currently playing the lead. I’ve heard that Friday’s performance was his penultimate appearance as his six-month contract draws to a close.

So how did it stack 31 years later? Not bad. Gates was superb, as was Jenna Lee-James who played the show’s Narrator. However some of the songs were sung with less than perfect enunciation, thus losing much of the impact I recall them once having. It’s clear the cast has become a little complacent as small details falter. Despite these glitches, the show remains timeless. It’s hard to believe that Andrew Lloyd-Webber and Tim Rice sold the show’s copyright for a mere 50 guineas in 1969. The last time these right changed hands, they cost £1 million.

Next on our list of West End shows is London's first production of Priscilla; Queen of the Desert, a stage adaptation of the Australian arthouse comedy film took the world by storm in 1994. Currently, the Palace Theatre in Cambridge Circus is festooned by a giant silver stilletto shoe. It's a wonderfully simple, eye-catching promotion.