Carys Jeffrey Evans, neither as Welsh as her name sounds nor as American as her voice sounds (she tells us at the start) has a dream – well, quite a long list of dreams as it turns out. But chief among them is to follow her obsession with the Eurovision Song Contest to its logical conclusion by becoming the UK’s next entry. To that end, she has ticked another goal off her bucket list by putting on an original one woman show at the Fringe, to demonstrate her suitability for the role.
Beginning with a sparky rendition of this year’s Bulgarian winner ‘Bangaranga’, Carys gives us a potted autobiography demonstrating that she has the attributes required, and a quick run though the history of the contest as a symbol of peace and reconciliation after WWII. The show is an affectionate tribute to all things Eurovision, with marketing-style analysis of what works and what fails – if only the people who select the UK entrant were privy to this! Carys herself is an engaging performer with a strong singing voice, sparkly of dress and personality.
Some of the Eurovision references were too obscure for me (but I am a rather casual viewer) and might have benefited from more on-screen captions or images. The show packs in a lot of content but there were a few slight hesitations. Carys’s enthusiasm is infectious though, and she had her audience on side with her campaign throughout.
I’m sure when Carys takes the stage in Bulgaria in 2027, with the help of all the audience signatures on her petition, she’ll bring home the points that her Key Performance Indicator requires. A fun show, and a bit of philosophising at the end as Carys muses about those ‘to-do-before-I die’ lists that languish in many a diary. Congratulations Carys for ticking off ‘putting on a Fringe Show’, and good luck with the rest.
Runs until 22 August 2026 | Image: Contributed
