| What: Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat Where and when: Cape Town at Theatre on the Bay May 9 to July 12, 2025 and then to Johannesburg at Pieter Toerien’s Montecasino Theatre, from July 18 to 2025 Direction: Anton Luitingh and Duane Alexander Cast: Includes Dylan Janse van Rensburg (Joseph), Lelo Ramasimong (the Narrator) and Chris Jaftha (Pharaoh) Musical supervision: Charl-Johan Lingenfelder Musical direction: Amy Campbell Choreography: Duane Alexander and Jared Schaedler Set and costumes: Niall Griffin Lighting design: Oliver Hauser Tickets: Webtickets Producers: Pieter Toerien and the Luitingh Alexander Musical Theatre Academy (LAMTA) |
Joseph and The Technicolor Dreamcoat is on at Theatre on the Bay in Cape Town, until July 12 and then transfers to Joburg, to Toerien’s Montecasino Theatre & Studio from July 18. The producers Pieter Toerien and the Luitingh Alexander Musical Theatre Academy (LAMTA), creative team and cast have created a Joseph 2025 which is very Generational Now. It is young, energetic and fun. I loved every moment.
Joseph’s family are no longer farmers. They are drifters, surfers and sand board enthusiasts. For me the biblical story which inspired this musical, becomes a moving story of family, siblings and family conflicts and a happy ending which we can all sing along to Andrew Lloyd Webber’s wondrous music and Tim Rice’s delicious lyrics.
The aesthetic is much Afrika Burn meets surfer culture. Clothes look like upmarket thrift store finds which have been up-scaled into couture and accessorised with a dazzling rainbow of sneakers, including gold sneakers for the palace scene. Costumes and set are by award winning Niall Griffin. He has created a gorgeous cropped dreamcoat, which gets delivered in a Snakealot box. Lovely contemporary cultural references in this production but not over the top.
Twenty two year old Dylan Janse van Rensburg plays Joseph with verve and assurance. He channels surfer dude caught up in a family behaving badly. It is a shocking case of favouritism. This is van Rensburg’s first year on the professional musical theatre boards. This talented actor who graduated from LAMTA at the end of 2024, made his mark in LAMTA student productions. His versatility is remarkable. In his final year at LAMTA, he played the simmering Stanley in LAMTA’s staging of Tennessee Williams’ A Streetcar Named Desire and here in Joseph, he is singing and dancing in a much loved musical. His theatrical and vocal smarts come through strongly in this production. I sensed a wistfulness in Joseph – even in the strutting scenes in the palace in Egypt. He is just a boy, in his jockey briefs, flummoxed by what happens to him and going with the flow as best as he can.
Lelo Ramasimong rocks it as the narrator. Great to see the Jozi dynamo on stage in Cape Town. She is fabulous and so different to other narrators that I have seen in previous productions. There is an intimacy and warmth to the character which is lovely.
Chris Jaftha channels a gangster aesthetic to his Pharaoh which I really enjoyed – the Pharaoh in strutting around in his gold lame shorts, with a hint of menace. In 2017, in an interview with Luitingh when he played Pharaoh, he noted: “Pharaoh comes onto stage for about seven minutes at the top of Act 2.” So, Pharaoh’s time is short and in the 2025 production, Pharaoh was very Elvis inspired. In this production, 2025, his menace is very apt in relation to the world around us. It is testament to the creativity of Luitingh and Alexander in the directors’ seat and to the creative team in constantly re-imagining Joseph for each staging, so that is always fresh and relevant and they have delivered with this Joseph. For those of us wo have watched Joseph from its first incarnations in South Africa in the 1970s, with the legendary triad of Alvon Collison, Richard Loring and Bruce Millar, it is fascinating to see how this musical has been re-visioned for contemporary audiences, keeping it fresh, relatable and as I mentioned – young. In tandem, with the hipster vibe, it is a Joseph which also resonates with older audiences as we know the music and lyrics so well.
Fantastic athletic choreography (Alexander and Jared Schaedler) which culminates in madcap dance in the palace scene, which reminded me of Extravaganza at Sun City, back in those days, without nipple caps. Mention to Anna Oliver who is dance captain and female swing (a vital role), for her work on this production. One can see how much fun the cast is having. A terrific aspect of the production is that live music elements have been overlaid on the backtracks. Musical director, Amy Campbell plays keyboards and conducts from the tech/sound box at the back of the theatre. Watch her and watch the cast as they take their voice cues – fabulous. Charl-Johan Lingenfelder (musical supervision) keeps the classic Joseph music in check, and allows it to breathe with the energy of the cast and their voice work. Oliver Hauser’s striking lighting design heightens the jeweled Afrika Burn aesthetic. I don’t recall Joseph being so funny. We laughed a lot and walked out smiling. Do not miss this exuberant and joyous production.
✳ Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Cape Town and Johannesburg 2025. Pic: Claude Barnardo. Supplied.
