Any Dream Will Do star Keith Jack on life in and out of Joseph’s amazing technicolour dreamcoat

Oct 24 2012 by Lorna Hughes, Birkenhead News

IT MAY be five years since he shot to fame in Any Dream Will Do but there’s something Joseph star Keith Jack just can’t shake off.

“People are like ‘remember the young boy from that show’,” he laughs, referring to the judges’ comments about his youthful looks.

“I was 18 then and I’m 24 now. I’ve changed a bit but everyone still laughs because I look so young on the poster for the tour.

“It’s not too bad being told you look young, is it?

“Although funnily enough, people will say to me ‘you look so much older now, well not like old, just older!’”

The jovial Scotsman is making his first visit to Wirral next month as the touring version of Joseph And The Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat arrives for a week-long stint at the Floral Pavilion Theatre in New Brighton.

The family musical is a colourful retelling of the biblical story about Joseph, his 11 brothers and the coat of many colours.

While Any Dream Will Do winner Lee Mead headed to the West End after the televised search for a new Joseph, Keith was handed the role of the narrator.

He finally got his hands on that coat two years ago for the touring version of the show – and his enthusiasm for all things Joseph hasn’t waned.

“I love it!”, he exclaims. “It’s a really good tour, a good cast and we have a lot of fun. It’s cheesy but in playing Joseph I’m fulfilling my dream.”

The tour took a three-month break over the summer, which Keith spent teaching at Gie It Laldy, the performance school for youngsters he runs in Edinburgh.

When the Joseph star spoke to Day and Night, his young performers had just finished a workshop with the cast of Phantom Of The Opera.

“It’s great that I can give them that opportunity with people I’ve met and people I’ve worked with,” he says.

“It’s worked out that I’ve been there a lot of the time. I’ll fly up on Sunday to teach and fly back on a Monday morning.

“I love doing it and they’re a great group of kids.

“They’ve got a lot of talent and you get that buzz of seeing them growing into something really good.”

Away from Joseph – he’ s signed up until November but is happy to stay longer – Keith is working on his third album and preparing for panto in Whitley Bay at Christmas.

He has appeared in several Scottish shows but says it will be his first taste of an English pantomime.

“I’ve got a couple of concerts coming up and I’ve been songwriting for my next album,” he says.

“It’s hard because I’d love to do like a proper poppy guitar album but that’s not what people expect from me – I’m seen as more of a pop-classical crossover.

“You never know what will happen next. That’s what I love about this industry.”

Joseph is at the Floral Pavilion Theatre from October 30 to November 4. Call the box office on 666 0000 or book online at www.floralpavilion.com