Bringing Joseph’s tale to life

By Joshua Surendraraj

St Peter’s College will present their rendition of the classic musical ‘Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat’ this week

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T book of Genesis, in the bible relates the tale of a young boy destined for greatness. His name was Joseph. Hailing from a family of 12, Joseph was his father, Jacob’s favourite. Always the centre of attention, he was soon to attract the jealousy of his brothers. His story was made popular by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s colourful musical ‘Joseph and The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat’, which captures the renowned biblical narration colourfully.

The theatrical ensemble of St Peter’s College together with a few invitees, hope to present their rendition of the play, which takes place at the Lionel Wendt from
Jan 25 – 29.

Directed by Jehan Bastians, Neidra Williams and Charith De Silva, the musical will feature a cast of 80 members.

Earlier, the Mirror caught up with a bubbly cast, at a dimly lit St Peter’s College auditorium.
As the younger cast members set up in the background, we spoke to the old boys, Mahesh Seneratne (Reuben), Eric Wijeratne(Judah), Johann Perera (Naphtali),Ivan Severus (Asher), Julian Anderson (Issachar) and Naresh Anthony (Simeon), who are also part of the production.

The excited boys fit perfectly into their character as they playfully tease ‘Judah’ adding that he is not as bad as the other brothers. Rather Judah’s role involves an obsession with Joseph’s ‘Coat of Many Colours.’

Regardless of their bond, throughout the entire play their ultimate agenda is to get back at Joseph, as he is their father’s favourite after all.

Moving on from the play, we talk about the logistics behind it.
“Hectic is an understatement, when it comes to working with a younger crowd,” Ivan says. However he adds that it’s a pleasant experience with the younger crowd because it’s a school production.

Naresh tells us, it’s good to get the young ones involved, to show them what drama and the theatre are about. “Hopefully they can continue the legacy, which St Peter’s has left behind and take it to another level,” he says .
After having played the ‘Pilot’ in ‘Bengal Bungalow’, this will be Julian’s second time on stage. He explains, that sometimes you would not know that you have a passion for something, unless you witness it and “that’s what happened to me very recently.”

The production offers plenty of music and dance routines that are bound to keep everyone’s eyes fixed and feet tapping, throughout the show.

Roshni Gunaratne, another cast member who plays the role of Jacob’s wife in the musical is also in charge of the choreography.

“I just love this whole experience,” she tells us adding that; the musical has always been one of her favourite productions alongside ‘Jesus Christ Superstar.’

“It’s been a really good challenge for me as a choreographer, a dancer and being able to teach.”

Roshni recalls the universal themes which the audience could certainly relate to. “It’s a play that everyone knows, the music, the storyline, the themes such as betrayal, jealousy, love and family,” she says adding that these themes could be ones that even first timers relate to.

She has been working with the cast for almost six months now and has conducted several dance lessons and workshops, for both the dancers and non-dancers alike.

“It’s amazing from the smallest to the adults, I can’t imagine how they do it, the level of commitment they have, to pull it off, makes me have so much respect for them,” she says.

In terms of choreography Roshni has not stuck to the original musical per say. As she explains, “I don’t like to copy, but I also think that it’s important to keep in mind the nature of music and the rhythmic patterns.”

Tickets for the show are priced at Rs.600 (Balcony), Rs.1500, Rs.2000 and Rs.2500 for the Wednesday (25) and Thursday (26) shows and Rs.700 (Balcony), Rs.1000, Rs.2000, Rs.2500 and Rs.3000 for the Friday (27), Saturday (28) and Sunday (29), shows. Tickets will be available online at takas.lk