WORTH A LOOK?: ***
WHERE?: Stream Theatre
WHEN?: Runs 30 April to 10 May 2021 RUNTIME: 75 minutes
The best reason to stream this star-studded version of a hit West End musical from yesteryear is that it will get you in the mood for this month’s Eurovision Song Contest.
- Read on for reasons including how Kofi, Clifton, Paige and Thorpe all feature here
If that’s not a state that particularly appeals then it might be best not to buy a ticket for Eurobeat – The Pride Of Europe which is a very 00s take on a singing competition hosted by tiny Liechtenstein and featuring 10 countries including the UK, Ireland, Sweden and Norway.
The highlight for us was Drag Race UK star Tia Kofi as the Ukrainian entry Anitchka (pictured above) who actually performs the sexed-up Bang Me (sample lyric: ‘Hit on me like a timpani, I’m the drum so bang me here I come’) rather convincingly with her 4 dancers.
Another joy was West End and Strictly star Joanne Clifton (Rocky Horror Show, Theatre Royal Brighton) who has a lot of fun as 1 half of morose Lithuanian duo Idomas who have very limited synchronised dance moves but a great song in This Is How I Dance, their joyless faces contrasting nicely with a lyric explaining: ‘This is how I like to party.’
Elsewhere Harriet Thorpe (Sleepless, Wembley Park Theatre) has a glass of fizz in 1 hand as she argues with her partner during UK entry Why Don’t You Love Me Anymore?
We enjoyed Scott Paige (Cinderella, Turbine Theatre) during Viking-inspired Norwegian entry Hammer Of Thor (sample lyric: ‘We’re the Vikings and we’re out on a bender, We’re the Vikings and we’ll never surrender.’) even if it relies a little too heavily on cliche.
We did see Eurovision presenter Mel Giedroyc in a slightly different version of Eurobeat to this one in the West End in 2008 and, while we’re enjoying that this boasts more key changes than a locksmith, its reliance on poking fun at old school European stereotypes feels more Terry Wogan than Graham Norton.
Indeed more successful are the more recent songs which reflect a Eurovision where music that is more accomplished tends to do better and this production’s Portuguese entry Guy With The Guitar successfully apes Ed Sheeran and feels a little more relevant to present day Eurovision than the rather old-fashioned Irish offering Diddly Dee.
Indeed Eurobeat is far less successful than Will Ferrell’s Oscar-nominated homage Eurovision Song Contest: The Story Of Fire Saga but it does boast some entertaining songs and a few laughs if that’s what you’re looking for.
monstagigz 
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