Eurobeat
OK, I have a confession to make: My name is Andrew, I’m 22, I’m English and… I love the Eurovision Song Contest.
Ouch. Well not that my ‘street-cred’ has all but vanished I can continue because tonight I witnessed a theatrical event that so was ridiculously funny and entertaining that I’m still smiling when I think back to it now.
The production is called Eurobeat and is showing at the Novello Theatre on Aldwych. As you may have already guessed, it is a musical based upon the cultural institution that is the annual European Song Contest. On taking your seat in the theatre you are transposed into the seat in the arena of the contest in Sarajevo and are guided through the event by host duo, Les Dennis and Mel Giedroyc (complete with ridiculous accents).
Naturally the performance revolves around the various national stereotypes and comes complete with all the usual Eurovision traditions: contestants in either tight lycra trousers or traditional dress singing songs about either love, peace or animals accompanied with some of the most in-appropriate dancing and props. It even featured a cameo from Mr Eurovision – Terry Wogan.
The British entry was a romantic duet performed by two chavs (obviously), the Irish performance was the usual ballad featuring a repetitive monosyllabic chorus, and the German entry was as profoundly German as you could get (as the leaflet says “they redefine what exactly constitutes an entry in a song contest”). The Greek singer was a tall, brunette in short black dress (obviously) and the Swedish group (called ‘Avla’) appeared on stage remarkably similar in appearance to ABBA…
Ouch. Well not that my ‘street-cred’ has all but vanished I can continue because tonight I witnessed a theatrical event that so was ridiculously funny and entertaining that I’m still smiling when I think back to it now.
The production is called Eurobeat and is showing at the Novello Theatre on Aldwych. As you may have already guessed, it is a musical based upon the cultural institution that is the annual European Song Contest. On taking your seat in the theatre you are transposed into the seat in the arena of the contest in Sarajevo and are guided through the event by host duo, Les Dennis and Mel Giedroyc (complete with ridiculous accents).Naturally the performance revolves around the various national stereotypes and comes complete with all the usual Eurovision traditions: contestants in either tight lycra trousers or traditional dress singing songs about either love, peace or animals accompanied with some of the most in-appropriate dancing and props. It even featured a cameo from Mr Eurovision – Terry Wogan.
The British entry was a romantic duet performed by two chavs (obviously), the Irish performance was the usual ballad featuring a repetitive monosyllabic chorus, and the German entry was as profoundly German as you could get (as the leaflet says “they redefine what exactly constitutes an entry in a song contest”). The Greek singer was a tall, brunette in short black dress (obviously) and the Swedish group (called ‘Avla’) appeared on stage remarkably similar in appearance to ABBA…
After laughing almost to tears through the 10 entries the audience is given the opportunity to vote for the winner via text message – a chance the hosts emphasise as being one variation from the Eurovision format… Once all the votes are collated and the interval has passed with the usual over-dramatic and over-budget showcase of the host country, the results are collected from each ‘country’ as it is done in the real contest. Of course, this allows for further comedy at the expense of the various national stereotypes.The winners were the Russians, and the UK (bucking tradition) actually finished with some points (!). It even reached the often-illusive double figure mark and in the process finished in fourth place! Naturally my favourite didn’t win, but the whole evening was so enjoyable and such a laugh - I don’t think I’ve ever laughed so much.
Forget airing the Eurovision from Moscow this year. Save some money and televise the Eurobeat show instead!
Labels: Concerts
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