Do you know what connects this unassuming building to a global musical phenomenon? This is Colet Court. It may look like a regular office block now, but it was once a place where young boys were schooled in a very particular way. It was also here, in the heart of Colet Court, that a musical masterpiece was born: “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.”
Colet Court, established in 1881, served as the preparatory school for the prestigious St. Paul’s School. Renamed Colet Court in 1892, it was a place of rigorous academics, stiff upper lips, and a healthy dose of eccentricity. But in 1968, something extraordinary occurred within these very walls. Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, then young and relatively unknown, were commissioned to create a musical for the boys of Colet Court.
The result was a 15-minute “pop cantata” titled “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.” The first performance, featuring the boys of Colet Court as both singers and orchestra members, took place in the Old Assembly Hall. The musical, with its catchy tunes and biblical storyline, was a hit. It eventually made its way to larger stages, underwent expansions and revisions, and became the global phenomenon we know today.
The next time you hear the catchy tunes of “Any Dream Will Do” or “Close Every Door,” remember Colet Court. It’s a reminder that even within the seemingly ordinary, extraordinary stories are waiting to be discovered.