“Joseph” – Goat curry anyone?

By Louisa Taylor January 19, 2012

Camel caravan in a desert

My first visit to the costume cupboard of 2012 is complete. What a sneeze-inducing experience it was. Thankfully the lovely ladies in charge of all things “Wardrobe” had already pulled out the big box stuffed full of old robes and headgear used in the last production some ten years ago so there was no immediate reason for me to climb into the attic space. However the dust on the box thought it would be highly amusing to attempt to find a new home in my nostrils. Clearly my nostrils did not agree.

There were some odd treasures to be found in that box. I’m sure that someone had once torn down some curtains in a bid to make outfits in a style befitting the Von Trapp children in The Sound of Music. Lovely brown striped numbers in heavyweight curtain material followed by pastel, sparkly headgear in nylon. Nothing but the very best quality to be found in our costume cupboard.

Given the show is still three months away, we are only just starting to think about all the different costumes needed for each musical number. Of course this is a tricky time when we have to balance the budget against my bizarre theatrical vision (or idea, as it is more commonly known). Needing to separate the Brothers from their wives is quite frankly tricky when everyone is likely to be wearing a skirt of some kind. Perhaps we’ll just have the Wives showing some leg and the Brothers…not. Plus we also have to find ways of linking each Brother and Wife. This is in part to ensure they remember who they actually married as there is already some confusion on this point. The added benefit is it forces them to dance in the same direction as each other. One nice brightly coloured ribbon tied around the waists of each couple should do the trick. It will of course make getting on and off the stage somewhat difficult, especially when the Wives have to leave before the Brothers, but I’m sure we can find a way out of that particular issue. Perhaps by replacing the ribbon with coloured elastic.

It was exciting to find the original technicolour coat and to see our new Joseph decked out in all its splendour. Amazingly it is the right length in arm and leg and only needs a few new panels of colour added to create the glorious parachute effect when the Brothers hold it up for all to see. The coat has already gone off for its initial repairs.

The undergarments remain a point of slight contention. Joseph has to be stripped of his coat and later, thanks to the skillful manoeuvring of Potiphar’s Wife, down to very little at all. The traditional approach is for Joseph to wear a plain white loincloth but I consider that too simple for our glossy production. Two options are now under consideration. A white loincloth with some tastefully placed pieces of white feather-boa as edging or a wonderful pair of gold mini-shorts (not hot pants, I could never be so cruel) complete with white lace edging. Thoughts welcome on which you would prefer Joseph to be seen in.

Having found the original coat, and tackled Joseph’s underwear (so to speak), we attempted to find the second coat used for the scene when it is ripped into pieces by his jealous Brothers. Sadly no coat could be found. Instead, at the bottom of the clothing box, we uncovered two goat legs.

Now, is it me or would you not expect to find the rest of said goat somewhere nearby? For example, the other two legs, a body, a tail and a head? We searched box after box and finally came to the conclusion that someone had decided to try out a new recipe for goat curry. It is meant to be quite a delicacy. Although I am sure that it works better with actual goat meat and not chunks of cotton-wool covered wood. Still, it takes all sorts.

We also failed to find the camel. You would think that a camel would be tricky to miss but apparently they are masters of disguise. I might send out a search party on our next rehearsal night. They might even find the remains of the goat.

Originally posted on: http://hugmore.wordpress.com/2012/01/16/joseph-goat-curry-anyone/