Tessa Davies reports
This show really does have the ‘feel good factor’. From the moment you walk in the door we were treated to the Eurovision Experience. Cheesy as it is, it really cheered up a cold winter’s night.
The entire production was slick and extremely well performed, it is difficult to single out particular players as they all performed well. However the two ‘hosts’ played by Joe Drury (Sergei) and Sarah Drury (Boyka) were outstanding. They maintained excellent continuity between the ‘acts’ and demonstrated talent for innuendo that clearly is a large part of the Eurobeat experience.
The cast produced maximum comedy from every song and rehearsals must have been hilarious. As I had never seen the show before it is difficult to assess what came from the script and what came from the director and cast. I suspect much of the visual comedy came as a result of cast input from the rehearsals. I can imagine what fun they must have been. Most societies allow a good four months to produce a show of this standard; Thurrock Thameside did it in two. As a result the show is sparkling and fresh.
Whilst the show is performed to backing tracks the cast had worked hard on the singing and MD Clare Penfold had a rare opportunity to see the results of her work from the audience. Director Scott Dean has a reputation for good shows and this production has enhanced that, he got some great ‘Eurovision’ moments from the production. The Choreography, by Victoria Gatford, was excellent with a different style of routine for each ‘Act’ and the whole cast were well drilled. It was totally Eurovision!
Quite rightly, the society chose to spend their production budget on lights and costumes and both were spectacular. L’rain produced a beautiful set of costumes with each country having a clear identity that matched the song. The show is based on stereotypes and the cast milked those to the maximum with great comedic effect.
Technically this show gave us so much, the scoreboard and voting reporting was outstanding and thankfully nothing went wrong. But then if it had, that’s Eurovision!
A really great night out, thank you Thurrock Thameside.
