Eurobeat doesn't miss a beat

I would firstly like to acknowledge that I am a past committee member for Playlovers, as well as good friends with many people in this show; however, i do not hold any of that as bias in my review. My review is to help aid the public in the quality of the show, from my one perspective, and to give feedback to the cast/crew. Playlovers have to be awarded the most-ambitious award at the next Finleys. Their list of huge musicals really hold a high calibre...Grease as the Regal Theatre, Pageant, Seussical and now Eurobeat...a show that combines much technology, accents, audience-participation plus so much more that must have been a nightmare to organise, rehearse and perform...and on opening night, the show went pretty well flawless. I do not want to spend ages talking about Hackett Hall, I believe that everyone has exhaustively critiqued the hall and we know that it's not the best facility but Playlovers make do with what they have and do the best they very can - what more can you ask for?? But even in that little hall, that didn't stop great sounds, dazzling lighting and terrific performances from taking place. There's so much to talk about this show, I hardly know where to start...i guess two things spring to mind first...the costumes and Cynthia Fenton. Congrats to Terry McAuley and crew for dazzling costumes. Terry has one of the highest reputations for costumes in community theatre and this show concreted his talent. As for Cynthia Fenton...the accents were great, the comic timing was perfect...Cynthia held the show for me and many times i couldn't take my eyes of her amazing costumes and how well they looked on her. Eurobeat has too many countries to dissect them all but every performer was fantastic and worked really well as an ensemble as well as marked their individual turf. Should you go see this? Yes, because it's hilarious and highly entertaining but most of all, what this show is, is a showcase of what Perth really does have to offer and it shows the potential community theatre can strive to achieve. Congrats on the hard work, tears, long nights and energy that has gone into this show. You have all done yourself proud. Congrats Kim and Martin on once again crafting an excellent show. Well done David Young and committee being the backbone off this show and company. Thanks for a great night out. Have a night out at Playlovers and see Eurobeat - you won't be disappointed.

Thanks ksamg! Eurobeat is such a fun show to be in and I'm glad to hear the audience had just as much fun as we do onstage! So come and see Eurobeat! If you aren't into musical theatre this will be a show for you as it is not a conventional musical where characters burst into song -- I call it a 'pseudo musical', more like a scripted concert. So come along and have a fun, great night out! (Oh and in my personal opinion I think you should vote for Iceland ;) )

On a cold evening I ventured down to good old, 'not so warm', Hackett Hall to see a show that I was convinced was too soon to put on after the professional production last year. Well with a packed house and a warming atmosphere I was wrong on both counts. One thing I was definitely sure about was that I would see a cracker of a show and I wasn't disappointed! This show was outstanding! Right from when you stepped into the venue you were brought into the world of Eurovision. The time and effort that has gone into developing this was not time wasted. From the animal pen out the front where an escaped goat once lived to the superbly dressed President of the newly liberated Bosnia - Herzegovina and even down to the Playlovers sign on the Greenroom door aptly changed to "Playloversk" it seemed that all bases had been covered. As they say, it is the little things that count. Now before I continue into my review (first one ever and probably my last!!) and you grow tired of reading it I must say get off your backsides and see it! It is definitely a must see. Now to the show. I would place this show in most aspects on a definite par with the professional production seen at the Regal in 2006. While this show brought back some wonderful memories of the professional production it also cemented for me the superb talent we have in our own backyard. My congratulations go to Kimberley Shaw for bringing together such a wonderful cast. Her casting for each of the countries was spot on in my eyes and it was a real pity that we had to vote for a winner because each act was brilliant. This show is very much an ensemble show and all ensemble members played their part very well. I would though like to highlight one performance. Cynthia Fenton, who played the role of Eurovison host Bronya, was brilliant. I was a huge fan of Julia Zemiro (I hope that's spelled correctly) in that role last year and I thought Cynthia was just as good if not better! Her perfect timing and warming smile made her the perfect choice to lead you on this musical contest journey. But as I led to earlier, a show is only as good as its chorus and I thank them all for their boundless energy and commitment to the show. One of the weaknesses of this show is that for the performer it is very bitty and so the tendency could be to lose focus when you have done your bit but this didn't occur. This was very evident in the opening to the second act when the entire cast performed the song "Sarajevo". Musically spot on, powerful and abounding with energy. It's wonderful to see a show where the chorus is in full voice and simply knocking your socks off. While there were so many highlights this number was right up there. So congratulations must go to Penny Kimble for her vocal direction because she truly got the best out of this group of performers. With so many musicals numbers and many different styles it was very pleasing to have the choreography keep up with the challenge. My hat goes off to Kristen Twynam-Perkins and Clint Strindberg for such a tightly choreographed show. Yes there were some (well only a few ... no maybe two) glitches that occurred but for someone who is a dancing moron I thought it was awesome. And my wife who IS a dancer thought so as well. When I heard that Playlovers was attempting to put this show on I immediately thought to myself how will they be able to meet the technical challenges that they are sure to come up against? All I can say is, Andrew Wong, Bravo!! The 'real time' visual links in the second act are crucial to the show and provide the audience with some real humour and the opportunity to focus on something else. To me this was dangerous territory with so much that could go wrong but in the end it was made to look so easy. Well done Andrew! Lighting this show was a big task especially considering the issues we all know too well when it comes to lighting a show at Hackett Hall. Well done to Don Allen on a wonderful Lighting Design. If I had one gripe it was that, at times, I felt Bronya and Sergei weren't in enough light. But maybe this was the effect required considering Bosnia - Herzegovina's economic rationalism impacting on the event! The sound was a huge challenge considering that it must be performed using the backing music provided. Overall I felt that the most part the balance between performer and music wasn't too bad. At times though the music seemed to over power the singers. Was it the accoustics of the venue (maybe I wasn't sitting in the 'Sweet spot' according to a good friend of mine) or an imbalance in the backing tracks or maybe the mics needed to be turned up a bit more? I don't know. I am being picky here though but one does like to hear the performers in a musical not just the music. I do think that sound at Hackett Hall has come a long way and it is great to see so many mics on stage even though it does create challenges for the sound man. Now when you go and see a Playlovers show you can for the most part expect amazing and appropriate costumes. And I hate to disappoint but this is no different. When does Terry McAuley find time to sleep? He has once again outdone himself. The costumes for this show are a show in itself. Bronya and Sergei have a complete costume change each time they step onto the stage and, after a while, you sit with anticipation waiting to see what they come out in next! What will you see? Well there's Lycra, traditional dress, fantasy and plenty of flesh to keep the imagination ticking over. Well done Terry, you are the master of all things costume. For those who have started to nod off there is light at the end of the Eurovision tunnel. Finally my heartiest of congratulations must go to Team Shaw. Kimberley and Martin your devotion to a show is without question and the results only prove it all worthwhile. Thank you for bringing Eurobeat to the Community Theatre stage, giving so many more people an opportunity to see such an enjoyable show. Kimberley / Martin you should be very proud of your cast and crew and I believe that this is a Finley Award winning show. To those involved with this production all the best for the rest of the season. To those of you 'umming' and 'aarghing' about going to see Eurobeat don't think DO, you won't reget it!! It is a superb nights entertainment.

I have just finished reading the post above and I have to say I whole heartedly agree with almost everything Ales has said! It was such a wonderful night out (tonight...) full of tiny giggles and huge laughs. For those of you who enjoy a fantastic storyline and a night filled with the raw emotion of timeless musicals like les mis and phantom and west side story... welll... look somewhere else, Eurobeat is light hearted and fun and enjoyable, it doesn't take itself seriously and that in itself "I think" is a huge reason why it works! As for the Finely award comment I whole heartedly concur!!! Especially seeing as I also saw the Finely Award Winning "Seussical"... mmm... well when I heard it had won anything I almost lost faith in local theatre thinking... "If that's the best we've got, we've only got trouble!"... but enough of that, congratulations and salutations to the whole cast and crew and to Playlovers for a great night out!

In complete change to my normal patterns I am writing a very small review! I saw the closing night show (the only night in the season that I had off) and I have to say had a ball. Everything was covered, from the decorating of the venue, to the programs, to the unbelievable costumes (the stars of the show!), to the performances themselves. If you missed this you missed out. I have not had so much fun in a show for a while. Maybe being a Eurovision tragic helped?! The only bugbear- muffled voices through the mikes- don't know what can be done, but the text was lost unfortunately on several occasions. Well, I loved it, and that's that! Congrats to all involved from cast to crew to FOH! Nev It's the simple things stupid...