Sandy Rudd and Amazing Kids stage a technicolour dream

The lights are dim in the National Theatre of Namibia as the Bible story of Jacob and his 12 sons begins. Joseph, the youngest and obvious favourite, is given a gift by his father that causes grumbling amongst his siblings.

He is humble with his gift but still exited to show it off to his brothers…. they are however, not impressed.

So goes the story of ‘Joseph and his Technicolour Dreamcoat’ directed by Sandy Rudd and starring children from Amazing Kids Academy, Christopher the Grand, Lize Ehlers and Priscilla Topnaar which was staged at the NTN on 8 and 9 September.

With a live singing cast, pupil Fred Mwilima who plays the title character is pushed and pulled around the stage by his jealous siblings. He sings, quite beautifully I must say, his way through his troubled existence.

The children step and dance in sync with one another and exist on the stage with the kind of presence expected from the pros. Mwilima’s voice is raw and real, you almost wouldn’t expect this from such a young cast who just three months ago had little to no knowledge of the stage.

Aiding the Amazing Kids Academy’s pupils in bringing Andrew Lloyd Weber’s popular musical to life are Ehlers and Topnaar who serve as narrators with their beautiful but rather inaudible voices, which sometimes made it difficult to hear exactly what they were saying. This could have had a bit to do with poor enunciation and was a problem for those unfamiliar with the Bible story or who came for the dialogue.

The theatre is silent as Joseph is stripped of his garb by his once trusted brothers and sold to a passing merchant.

Enter Potiphar’s wife stage right. She is, as most prominent women in the Bible, portrayed as conniving and cunning as well as a thorn in Joseph’s side.

As such, she is an absolute pleasure to watch. Her part is narrated as she speaks no words, yet still manages to bring Joseph to his knees with her well executed sultry presence.

She has him arrested of course and he is sent to prison where he meets two comical characters, the baker and the butler who have Joseph interpret their dreams. Add a little spice to the story and we see Joseph and his new friends breakdance on the stage before they set him on his path to the Pharaoh. And boy is the Pharaoh a force to be reckoned with.

Christopher The Grand’s energy was unmatched and you could tell he was having a hell of a time in his almost Elvis Presley-like get up. He put on his own show of course – strutting, twirling and flicking his hair back and forth, and at some point ripping his shades off and flinging them across the stage.

“Strange as it seems, there’s been a run of crazy dreams,” he sings as he pleads with Joseph whose dream interpreting skills have preceded his arrival.

“Seven years of abundance in food,” Joseph says of the Pharaoh’s dream about fat and thin cows and crops. “Followed by seven years of famine.”

He advises them to prepare for this and subsequently saves them in the process and so Joseph’s luck changes and his brothers are now at his feet seeking his help.

They beg and plead with him and after he puts them through a test of their virtue. They reunite once again. Joseph gets to see his father Jacob again, played by delightful Bradley Anthony.

The numbers are joyful as the pupils sing their hearts out, the theatrics are wonderful as Joseph is given back what was taken from him. The ending is a spectacular show of colours and lights as a giant multicoloured coat is placed around his neck and pulled and stretched across the stage by his siblings and the chorus.

– @MissAnneDastood on Twitter.

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