Big and bold fun in this relentlessly camp musical

Jonathan Harvey has written the most sublimely camp and ridiculous musical I have ever seen. Unlike Eurovision’s unawareness for the most part of its own kitschiness, this is a show that knows how daft it is. A Thong for Europe is undoubtedly camp in its oscillating excessive garishness and sentimentality, and this quality makes it so enjoyable. Viewing the show through my theatre partner and I’s Gen Z eyes only made the experience richer in my opinion, as the absurdity of the show’s rapidly changing tones and many smutty gags hit us decidedly harder than our older audience counterparts. We soon find out that our protagonist Lulu has been tasked with fulfilling her mother’s wish of scattering her ashes on the Eurovision stage before she can finally ascend to heaven, and upon embarking on a mad dash to secure entry to the contest, kidnaps a prior performer and invites an eccentric visitor from the previously unknown state of Balkania to stay.

The show’s first half works hard to set up these ludicrous plotlines of exposition while the second half allows us to enjoy the spoils. For example, our expectations are hilariously subverted by a certain character’s reverse coming out when caught in an unlikely tryst with a woman. Sonia, the Merseyside pop star and Stock, Aitken and Waterman protége who represented the UK in 1993, also makes an appearance played by the always entertaining Keddy Sutton. Lindzi Germain who plays Lulu deserves mention as well for being a wonderfully passionate actor, committed to her character’s theatrical over the top emoting throughout.

The show is intrinsically scouse and this informs a massive chunk of the jokes. Attendees are expected to be in the know vis-à-vis local knowledge as well as Eurovision history. I caught myself wondering if any travelling Eurovision fans might find themselves in the thick of this production, struggling to decode the heavy accents and quick-fire references. Overall though, A Thong For Europe is a celebration of Liverpool’s heart and spirit through the glitz and glam of Eurovision. We get treated to a good handful of classics, most memorably Brotherhood of Man’s Save Your Kisses For Me and Conchita Wurst’s Rise Like a Phoenix, effectively finishing us all off with a rousing rendition of Waterloo at the end. It is all racy, silly, and totally enjoyable.

You can catch A Thong For Europe at Liverpool’s Royal Court Theatre until the 27th of May.