An affectionate, hilarious romp through seventy years of the competition that seems to divide and yet unite us all. Rating
Excellent!
Just like writer, director and performer of Eurovision: Your Decision, Tim McArthur, my Eurovision Song Contest awakening was in 1981 when Bucks Fizz won for the UK. I was so taken with the glamour and spectacle of the show, I genuinely could not understand why it did not appear on the news or why people were not dancing with joy in the streets at our win. That was the start of some very lonely years as a Eurovision fan for me.
Of course, love it or hate it, so many of us have taken Eurovision to our hearts over the years. This production celebrates that love in such an affectionate way, it is hard not to fall for its charms either. It’s billed as a cabaret that emulates a full night of Eurovision joy. The show is rich in detail: not only do we hear fifteen carefully curated songs from the history of the contest, we experience an interval act, voting, and green room filler. A winning element is that you can vote for your favourite act during the interval via QR code. It helped, of course, that the one I voted for won.
The songs themselves are a surprising but joyful mix of old classics and new, both winners and losers. They are all expertly sung by the compact cast of McArthur himself along with Jo Wickham, David McMullan and Hannah Elizabeth Clark. Some songs, like France’s ‘Voila’ or Italy’s ‘Volare’ are given a reverential treatment with frankly stunning vocals. At the other end of the scale Czechia’s ‘My Sister’s Crown’ gets some comedic twists. Somewhere between the two extremes are songs so iconic in Eurovision circles they are presented with detailed authenticity and still bring the house down (and to its feet) – Verka Serduchka I’m looking at you!
Performing in the iconic Royal Vauxhall Tavern makes this show a wonderfully silly hybrid of homage, cabaret, pantomime and nostalgia, and it works perfectly at all of these levels. It’s a bit rough and ready in places, like some of the contests themselves have been over the years, but the cast lean knowingly into these moments and handle any slips with ease.
It’s clearly intended for keen and casual fans alike. Well-oiled with drinks from the bar, it means that the audience are more than ready when McArthur (as host Dimetrius) ventures among them for crowd work during the vote count. Keenly observed and hilarious, McArthur’s hosting skills demonstrate his love for what has become something of an institution. His humour comes from a place of affection and he carries his audience with him until the last vote has been counted and the last note has been sung.
Despite this, a well-planned professionalism underlines the whole evening, with quite incredible (and unexpectedly hilarious) costumes and sets as well as a video projection that never overshadows the acts but which provides the explanatory opening, country postcards, singalong lyrics as well as the all-important jury votes. All of this is underscored with brilliant commentating by Matt Richardson. The overall effect is serious in its authenticity but undeniably warming in the way it embraces the legacy of the contest.
Forty-five years after my Eurovision baptism, the shine has recently worn off the competition for me a little. This grumpy old man increasingly finds the music wanting, the hosts too shouty and the constant controversy exhausting. Tonight, however, I was gently guided back to my love for it. The eleven year old me in 1981 would have been ecstatic to share the joy of Eurovision with so many likeminded people.
Written and directed by Tim McArthur
Eurovision: Your Decision plays at the Royal Vauxhall Tavern until Saturday 16 May.
