Director: John Drummond
Musical Director: Jonathan Hawthorn
Choreographer: Vicki Loynes
Venue: Riverlea Theatre, 8-17 October 2020
Song Contest: The Almost Eurovision Experience is the ideal way to celebrate New Zealand’s fortunate position of having theatres open when most countries are still socially distancing. Riverlea Theatre was packed to the rafters for the hilarious opening night performance.
Song Contest is part tribute, part comedy and fully interactive. From arrival, the audience is encouraged to participate as a citizen of one of the eleven competing nations. The highlight of the night is the actual online live voting which dictates the second half of the show. This is a clever and unique addition that requires a quick turnaround from the production team, crew and cast.
Fiona Greaves had the massive role as the effusive host for the evening, complete with a tricky accent and numerous costume changes. Greaves kept the momentum going and was an effective counterbalance amongst wildly varied musical numbers.
Dane Moeke, Hamilton’s very own semi-finalist on New Zealand’s Got Talent in 2012, stole the show with his award-winning performance for Italy. Moeke’s voice has matured over the years and has developed an exquisite timbre. He also has brilliant comedic timing and won the audience over with his witty reactions.
The other stand-out performance of the evening was that of Capri Mawston representing Norway. Mawston has been in numerous productions over the past few years and tonight her voice, stagecraft and presence all came together and produced magic.
Vicki Loyne’s choreography really shone particularly in the full company numbers. She is innovative and her distinct style is scintillating and energetic. Jono Hawthorn had a huge range of voices to work with and still managed to showcase individual talents. John Drummond’s direction was humourous and skilled. He provided unexpected moments and was able to procure entertaining performances from the entire cast. With thanks to Drummond, every performer was a star in their own right.
Song Contest was a all hands on deck, unpredictable and thoroughly enjoyable show in one of the city’s most loved venues. The production team, cast and crew are to be congratulated for persevering through a global pandemic and still managing to bring such an engaging production to Hamilton.
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