Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
★★★★★ Never hesitating
Playhouse: Tue 3 – Sun 29 Dec 2024
Review by Rebecca Mahar
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat blazes onto the Edinburgh Playhouse stage in a whirl of rainbow magic, saturated with the joy and energy that cements its place as an enduring classic of modern and contemporary musical theatre.
First developed as a short-form musical in the late 1960s, Joseph would go on to become a smash hit and the first in a series of successful partnerships between Andrew Lloyd Weber (music) and Tim Rice (lyrics). The production currently playing at the Edinburgh Playhouse was developed for the London Palladium in 2019, reworking and transforming the musical for the 21st century, and also went on a successful tour in 2022 before being revived for this 2024/25 outing.
Directed by Laurence Connor and choreographed by Joann M. Hunter, this condensed retelling of the story of Joseph (of Book of Genesis fame) is packed with energy and heart, romping through the story and its many ballistic dance breaks with never-flagging enthusiasm from its scores-strong cast.
The principals and swings are joined by a youth ensemble, who both act as the children to whom this story is being told, and join the adults as members of Joseph’s family, participating in scene changes, songs, and dance numbers alongside their elders.
admirable presence
Some of the youth ensemble also step out into smaller named roles such as Potiphar and the Pharaoh’s Butler and Cook, taking command of the stage with admirable presence.
Joseph is led and shepherded by the enigmatic, charismatic figure of the Narrator, who introduces each scene, fills in the gaps left by time-skips in the story, plays Joseph’s father, and slides in and out of the ensemble as she traverses the story.
Understudy Charley Warburton stepped in as the Narrator on the night of Æ’s visit, having debuted in the role only the previous night. A veteran of the West End company of Moulin Rouge, Warburton is spectacular as the Narrator, a testament to the talent and drive of understudies and swings everywhere.
She dazzles her way with apparent effortlessness through the physical and vocal demands of the role, from the opening scene where she seems to command the lights to obey her storytelling, to the end and her brief waltz with Joseph, always drawing the audience in.
full of fire
Donny Osmond as Pharaoh is celebrity casting at its best: a seasoned performer still full of fire and vocal chops after a six-decade career, here to tear up the stage and chew the scenery for his big scene, entertain and interact with the crowd, and gas up the rest of the company with his energy.

Adam Filipe as Joseph and Donny Osmond as Pharaoh in Joseph and the Technicolor Raincoat. Pic: Tristram Kenton
Osmond devours Song of the King as Pharaoh-cum-Elvis, balancing his celebrity status and the scene’s allowances for him to break character (including reminding us that he played Joseph over 2,000 times — in a loincloth) with the need to drive the show forward and deliver a solid performance. And deliver he does, before sashaying off for a well-earned breather.
Adam Filipe is perfectly cast as Joseph, embodying the irritating favourite son with charming obliviousness until, after being sold into slavery and thrown in jail, he delivers a powerful and haunting rendition of Close Every Door that reveals his true range. Filipe’s voice has an electrifying clarity, and this number is truly his showstopper, met with an extended ovation.
triple-threat bona fides
The ensemble of Joseph are hard at work throughout, changing costumes and shoes, hair and beards, to embody its many inhabitants. Every member of the company shows their triple-threat bona fides, maintaining precision, energy, and humour throughout.
Does it make sense when they all suddenly become cheerleaders in Go, Go, Go Joseph, or French in Those Canaan Days? No, but if you’re expecting logic from this 1970s technicolo(u)r dreamworld of a bible story, you’re at the wrong show— and the ensemble throw themselves fully into each new iteration, with an excitement and commitment that more than makes up for any of the show’s more interesting writing decisions.
As Tim Rice explains in his autobiography, “everything we added was a send-up or a steal of a well known form of popular music”, and part of the point of the show is to smash it all together into something that works, perhaps despite itself.
Under the musical direction and conductor’s baton of John Rigby, the orchestra of Joseph goes full send on the score, complete with some stellar shredding from Dan Booth on guitars. Rigby gets into the whimsical nature of the show as well, turning to side-eye and then conduct the audience when, during the entr’acte, the music takes a decidedly polka-ish turn, prompting them to clap along.
Lighting design from Ben Cracknell fully embraces the technicolour aspect of the production, bright and brilliant and concert-like during high energy numbers, with plenty of excellently punchy end-of-song ‘buttons’. Cracknell also finds moments for simple magic, such as the Narrator’s gesture in the opening scene that sweeps up star-beams through the audience, and the subtle, multidimensional angst of Joseph’s cell.
family-friendly
While Joseph is billed as family-friendly, parents unfamiliar with the show should be aware that it’s not a pantomime, but a traditional musical. Although the story does gloss over the nastier details of the biblical Joseph’s story and the peril is never too high, making this show entertaining for young and old alike.
At the end, in place of a traditional curtain call, the cast’s Joseph Megamix, is a rapid-fire whistle-stop tour through the show’s songs and dances, during which photos and videos are permitted, with the audience inevitably on their feet, dancing along.
For a show that will raise the roof, bring down the house, and open every door in a musical-lover’s heart, get down to the Playhouse for Joseph!
Running time: Two hours (including one interval)
Edinburgh Playhouse, 18-22 Greenside Place EH1 3AA
Tue 3 – Sat 29 Dec 2024
Tue – Sat: 7.30pm; Mats Thurs, Sat: 2.30pm; Suns: 1pm & 5pm.
Xmas eve: 1pm & 5pm, no show Xmas day. Boxing day: 6pm, extra matinee Fri 27.
Accessibility performances: Tue 17 will be a BSL signed performance, Wed 18 will be a captioned performance, Thu 19 will be an audio described performance
Tickets and details: Book here.
ENDS
One Fabulous show to come too watch & enjoy, fabulous.