From Sunday 18 to Wednesday 21 October, the Assembly Hall at St Paul’s High School became the land of Canaan and the court of Pharaoh as 76 of our pupils staged Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. All four nights sold out, every performance played to a full house, and every final curtain brought the audience to its feet. It was an amazing show for the school’s sixtieth anniversary, and a celebration worthy of sixty years of St Paul’s.

Audiences were enraptured by the vitality and vibrancy of the show: the speed of the costume changes, the choreography, the music, the diction, the performances and the entire production from first note to last. The show has been the talk of the South Armagh community this week, and it stands as a fitting testament to the incredible talent that exists within the St Paul’s community. The welcome began before the run opened, when the company performed for P7 pupils from our partner primary schools on Friday 16 October.

Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical tells the story of Joseph, the favourite son of Jacob, whose coat of many colours sets his eleven brothers against him. Sold into slavery in Egypt, he rises from Potiphar’s house to a prison cell to the right hand of Pharaoh on his gift for reading dreams. It is the latest in a line of St Paul’s musicals that stretches back to It’s a Small War in 1972 and, since 2006, has come round every two years, most recently with Chicago in 2022 and Oliver! in 2024, and Joseph was first announced as the school’s Diamond Jubilee musical in April.

At the centre of the show, Daithí Hoey took the title role of Joseph, two years after his Artful Dodger in Oliver!, with Olivia Ward and Ruby Lee Ward as the two Narrators who carry the story from the Prologue to the final reprise of Any Dream Will Do. Johnny Mooney played Jacob and James Hollywood doubled as Pharaoh and Levi, with Pharaoh’s Song of the King. Cian McCoy and Eimear McEldowney were Potiphar and Mrs Potiphar, and Paddy Keenan and Conor O’Hagan played the Butler and the Baker.

Jacob’s sons were played by Megan Bradley as Reuben, Ruairi O’Hagan as Simeon, James Hollywood as Levi, Grace McShane as Judah, Ellie Rice as Naphtali, Grace Kelly as Issachar, Leah Maxwell as Asher, Meabh Martin as Dan, Tia McKee as Zebulun, Matthew Pickett as Gad and Ella Louise Fearon as Benjamin. Megan Bradley led One More Angel in Heaven, Ruairi O’Hagan led Those Canaan Days and Grace McShane led the Benjamin Calypso.

The Wives were Jess Gosset, Carla Feehan, Lily Rafferty, Rua Convery, Isabella Ingram, Elizabeth Fearon, Oliwia Micholawski, Isabelle Salisbury, Bláithín Cribben, Niamh McVerry and Amy May McKeown, with Carla Feehan appearing as Queen Victoria in One More Angel in Heaven. Isla Byrne, Jess Gosset, Isabella Ingram and Amy May McKeown were the featured dancers.

The Narrator’s Choir, whose voices framed Any Dream Will Do and Close Every Door, was made up of Caden Murtagh, Ellen Strain, Eimear Cunningham, Mia Byrne, Niamh Haughey, Emy Kelly, Lara Pentony, Laurianne Dooley, Enya Quinn, Grace Daly, Jasmine Conway, Mebh McConville, Orlaigh McComb, Enya McParland, Sonya Farrelly, Lexi Kennedy, Sarah McVerry, Grace Loughran, Amy May McKeown, Isla Byrne, Ella McLean, Ellie McGale, Erin McGale, Ella Kieran, Madison Fegan, Ava McKeefry, Anna McShane, Maya Schumann, Erin Hughes, Florence Strain, Lily Mulholland, Aibha Loughran, Ellie Keating, Nancy Ingram and Eabha Doran.

The ensemble of Eabhan McConnon, Scarlett Kenny, Fainche Duffy, Tianna McCann, Ryan Richardson, Ellen Fegan, George Connolly, Oisin Hyland, Cara Hayes, Elise Hayes, Ellen Tierney and Ronan Boyle joined the company numbers throughout, from Jacob and Sons to Go, Go, Go Joseph.

The score was played live by a ten-piece band of friends of St Paul’s, led on keyboard by Miss Bridie McAvoy, with Sara-Jane Kelly on keyboard, Aislinn Prescott and Paul Berry on woodwind, Naoimh Mathers on French horn, Conor Mathers on trumpet, Kevin Canavan on acoustic guitar, Orla Rice on bass guitar, Georgina Hughes on percussion and Darragh Magee on drum kit.

The production was directed by Ms Pauline Lynch, with Mrs Joanna Doran as Musical Director, Mrs Catherine Hughes as Choreographer and Miss Bridie McAvoy as Assistant Musical Director. Writing in the programme, Ms Pauline Lynch recalled the energy of the audition days, when a set choreographed piece drew out a feast of musical and theatrical talent.

Behind the scenes, Mr Emmett Maguire was Production Manager and Miss Clare O’Hagan Stage Manager, as well as leading social media and publicity. The set was designed by Mr Brendan McArdle, with staging support from Miss Ciara McGuigan and a stage crew of Mr Alex Murphy, Mr Kevin McCann and Mr Brendan McArdle, with Mr Oisín McDonald as stage runner. Mrs Lorraine Hoey co-ordinated make-up, Mrs Orla Treanor costumes and Mrs Kellie O’Kane props. Lighting was by Mr Mark Hughes, Mr Tom Hughes and Mr Diarmuid Rankin, and microphones were managed by Mr Peter Slane, Miss Jamie Larkin and Ms Alana McKenna.

The school is grateful to Belvoir Players, Fiona Flynn Performing Arts and the Bardic Theatre for their kind help with costumes, and to Fiona Flynn Performing Arts and the Bardic Theatre for the loan of Joseph’s coats. Thanks also go to Miss Carol Hughes, who assisted with costumes, to Mrs Fearon, a kind parent, who made the skirts and headbands for the Wives at very short notice, to Mr Conor Mathers, who delivered musical theatre masterclasses to our principals, and to Our Lady’s Grammar School, Newry, for the use of percussion instruments.

A production on this scale is made possible by the generosity of our sponsors: Andrew Mackin Photography, Bavan Contracts, Bayview Contracts, Elliott-Trainor Partnership Solicitors, Fearon Bros, O’Neill’s Irish International Sports Co., OVVO Tech, Good Choice (Keli O’Callaghan), Gap o’ the North, Jonesborough, McEvoy’s Newry, Mitso Marketing, Dorans Kitchen & Home, G.P. Boyle & Co., MFC, Patrick McMahon Solicitors, Saints & Scholars, Crilly’s Sweets, who also provided the tuck shop, The DEN, and the school’s English and RE departments. The school also thanks the Bardic Theatre, the O’Hagan School of Performing Arts and the many silent sponsors who donated funds.

Congratulations to all 76 pupils of the cast, choir and ensemble, and thank you to Ms Pauline Lynch, the production team, the band, our staff, our families and every sponsor and friend who helped bring Joseph to the St Paul’s stage.

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, lyrics by Tim Rice, music by Andrew Lloyd Webber. Produced by arrangement with LW Entertainment Ltd.

Performance photography by Mrs Laura Hollywood. Company photograph and principal character headshots by Andrew Mackin Photography.

Cast portraits by Andrew Mackin Photography

Performance photographs by Mrs Laura Hollywood