Following the success of last year’s glitterfest, Olivier Award-winning improvisers The Showstoppers are presenting the ‘Alternative Eurovision Song Contest’ for a second year on Saturday 15th May.
Comedians Marcus Brigstocke and Rachel Parris are now lined-up to provide pithy commentary. He said “This is it! This is our time. This will make music history. In a good way.”
They are joined by an all-star cast of celebrities including actor Les Dennis, comedian Russell Kane, comedian London Hughes and cabaret star Le Gateau Chocolat as judges and Grace Mouat (‘& Juliet, ‘Six’), singer Jordan Gray and improv legend Mike McShane as guest performers.
Featuring brand new songs parodying all your favourite Eurovision genres, expert commentary and interactive voting, The Showstoppers invite you to join them as they recreate the extraordinary production values, high camp and musical merriment of the world famous competition.
So don your sparkliest outfits, your brightest make up and get ready for the biggest Europop party of the year!
Left to right, top top bottom: Australia – AD/BC (Dylan Emery, Philip Pellew), Austria – Marti and Marta (Lucy Trodd, Jonathan Ainscough), Cyprus – Melody (Grace Mouat), Czech Republic – Yana Novakovakova (Jordan Gray), Germany – Hemlick Maneuver (Matthew Cavendish), Greece – Hercules Vigoros (Joshua Jackson), Iceland – Tødd Ogren (Mike McShane), Ireland – Aoifee O’Sullivan (Susan Harrison), Italy – Marla (Julie Clare), Latvia – Hej! And Kristina Jansons (Justin Brett, Ali James), Montenegro – Marco Falatio (Adam Meggido), Russia – Arkhangel (Sean McCann), Sweden – Kristian Älska (Francesca Forristal), Turkey – Hakkan (Dylan Emery), Germany (2020 winner) – Rama Stein (Heather Urquhart)
A lockdown highlight that brought joy and hilarity to the UK’s living rooms, the 2020 event raised over £7,000 for The Care Workers’ Charity. This year’s show is also in aid of that charity. Songs will be written and recorded by The Showstoppers and the guest stars in collaboration with the company’s musical directors – Duncan Walsh Atkins, Christopher Ash and Jordan Clarke. Showstopper hosts Pippa Evans and Andrew Pugsley will live present this livestreamed event on the 15th May.
To vote, viewers will need to make a donation via The Showstopper PayPal on the night, with profits going to The Care Workers’ Charity.
Dates and times: Livestreaming on YouTube from 8pm (UK time) on 15th May 2021, catch all the action on: https://showstopperthemusical.com/alternative-eurovision-2021
The event will be captioned
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Showstopper! The Improvised Musical
Showstopper! The Improvised Musical has been a rip-roaring success since the show started in 2008. It has had 12 sell-out years at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, two West End runs, an Olivier award for Best Entertainment and Family Show and a BBC Radio 4 series. In the show, the audience meets a writer of musicals who is on a deadline – and needs their help. The audience shouts out suggestions of a setting, musical styles and the title of the show and they’re off! The Showstopper team – cast and band – then weave a brand-new musical in front of the very eyes of the audience, complete with hilarious characters, fabulous dance routines, beautiful songs, epic story lines, all sprinkled with the pizzazz of a Broadway show. For the past year, The Showstoppers have been keeping homes across the nation with a series of socially distanced, livestreamed musicals which have amassed over 10,000 viewers to date.
The Care Workers’ Charity
Care workers in the UK look after the most vulnerable members of our society. The role is rewarding and challenging; requiring compassion, patience and resilience. Despite their incredible work, they have been historically undervalued and face a great many challenges as a consequence of their role. A shocking 43% of care workers are being paid below the Real Living Wage (RLW) compared to 23% of the wider population- meaning they are twice as likely as the general population to be living in poverty. The Care Workers’ Charity was established in 2009, with the aim of supporting care workers across the UK. Since our inception, we have helped to prevent care workers from falling into financial hardship, through the distribution of Crisis Grants- designed to enable a care worker overcome a crisis in their lives when they have no financial cushion to otherwise keep them afloat Covid-19 exacerbated the challenges already faced by care workers, as they continue to put themselves in harms way to care for others. Our ‘Covid-19 Emergency Fund’ was set up in response to pleas for help from our care workers, who have been unable to access support elsewhere. They have most recently set up a Mental Wellbeing and Health Support Programme to turn the tide against the mental health crisis of our social care workforce.