“Charles Dickens was renowned for Great Expectations. He wasn’t disappointed when he came here.”
And neither was I.
Outside my bedroom window is a street light. A street light that also serves as an advertising space for what’s on at the Theatre Royal. So, after three gusty winter months of listening to various signs rattling away advertising numerous shows I noticed that no longer was it Swan Lake or The Tiger Who Came to Tea but Joseph and The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. Prompted by the sign, my ‘things to do in Brighton before graduating list’ and the shameful admission that after living here for 4 years I’d never been to the theatre, I went to buy myself a ticket.
The Theatre Royal in Brighton is smaller than I expected. But what it lacked in size it seemed to make up for in grandeur. Quite stereotypically theatre-ish with a heavy red velvet stage curtain, cushioned red velvet seats, a large amount of dark wood and what are, quite probably, huge chandeliers, just dwarfed by the height of the ceiling, I felt more like I was in a small town’s theatre than the theatre of one of the country’s largest cities.
Having not been to the theatre for a while, a more-than-ten-year long while, I didn’t really know what to expect. I had trouble choosing my seat when buying a ticket and had no idea how far in advance I should arrive on the day of the performance. I turned up half an hour before the curtain was due to go up and, upon walking through the heavy wooden doors which provide a barrier between the modern Bond Street and early 19th century theatre, was confronted with a large proportion of Brighton’s elderly and not one but two parties of primary school children under the not-so-successful control of a team of flustered looking teachers. Looking around I appeared to be somewhat of an odd ball. I was neither old nor a primary school child. Nor did I know where to go. So I hovered for a minute or two watching as people made their way past the ticket kiosk towards the back. I was about to give up my position next to the door when an announcement was made apologising for a slight delay in opening up the theatre. A few minutes later and I mingled in with the general flow of people towards the back. Once inside the theatre the mood changed from one of frantic teachers and fidgeting, chattering school children to one of calm with a hint of anticipation. I was sat in the fourth row from the front. The school children, thank goodness, were up on the balcony somewhere. The theatre was far from full and I did feel a little conspicuous sat on my own with nothing but empty seats surrounding me. I didn’t feel all that better when a few of those seats became occupied, all by elderly and, presumably retired, people. One of whom I saw place orange ear plugs into her ears – surely not a good sign…
Just as the heavy red velvet curtain was about to go up we were treated to another announcement – the star of the show – Craig Chambers, was absent. A groan of disappointment echoed around the room. I have to say that I was disappointed too – a part of the attraction of coming was, after following the BBC1 Saturday evening talent show to cast Joseph, I wanted to see Joseph, not a last minute replacement I hadn’t heard of. Any concerns, however, where soon put to one side as the show started. Even having never seen a production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat before I knew the storyline and so had some idea of what to expect. I would even be able to sing along to a few of the songs if it became necessary. What I was interested in was how it’d been interpreted. The stant that had been taken to give a show that’s been put on many a time before something new. The answer to my curiosities soon came in the shape of humour. Whether it be the inflatable sheep or the ‘motorbike’ golden chariot at the end of the show, the excellent choreography and stage make-up or the fantastic abilities of the cast themselves I enjoyed the show from beginning to end. The lights flashed the colour of Joseph’s coat during the ‘Coat of many Colours’ song, the costume changes were so quick it was mind blowing – I couldn’t have changed my socks in the time it took the cast to change whole outfits! And at the interval I was glad to see that my childhood memory of ice cream hadn’t died a death.
During the interval I’m not actually sure who felt more awkward – me being at the theatre on my own, sitting contentedly humming the songs from the first half, or the lady sat next to me who seemed to feel she had to be talking to me. She’d already seen a theatre production of Joseph about 14 years ago at the Theatre Royal in Brighton and commented on how this version had been somewhat modernised. I feared she might be about to complain but no, quite the contrary, she was impressed with the comic take on the show and even admitted to finding our unexpected Joseph quite handsome!
After the interval the high standard of acting continued as we saw Joseph interpret more dreams, take pity on the brothers who’d turned their back on him before framing the unfortunate Benjamin for stealing his golden cup. The finale came with a terrific performance by Joseph followed by a medley of the best known songs. The energy of the cast was phenomenal and couldn’t fail in motivating the crowd to join in. The length and volume of the applause at the end seemed to confirm my gut reaction – that the show was a success. Talking to the lady sat next to me again seemed only to confirm this further as did snippets of conversation I heard whilst leaving the theatre.
An afternoon well spent.
Above - this photo is maybe a little random as it has nothing to do with this post but... just look how much my plant (christened Godfrey Greenleaves) has grown! A sure sign of a happy plant!
