Live at the Marquee review: Bingo Loco provides a wild assault on the senses in Cork

Live At The Marquee Bingo Loco showtime images

An evening of style, song, and excitement awaits a crowd queuing up for what may be the Marquee's most energetic night as Bingo Loco XXL makes its highly anticipated debut at the Leeside tent.

Brought to life in 2017 by Dublin trio Craig Reynolds, Stephen Lawless, and William Meara, Bingo Loco XXL is a stand-out show out of this year's Live At The Marquee, combining a concert-style event with interactive gameplay to create a true assault on the senses.

As the sun shines on the summertime venue, attendees of all ages unite in the hope of winning big, with previous prizes for successful bingo ravers including a Mini Cooper, tickets to global music festivals and all-inclusive holidays to some of Ireland's most popular holiday destinations.

It's not just about the lucrative prizes, however, as Bingo Loco deviates far beyond the traditional chance numbers game, turning the concept on its head to create experience more akin to Woodstock than a typical Friday night at the community hall.

The Marquee stage is decorated with inflatable dinosaurs spanning 15ft. Waiting for the show to begin, the glow sticks handed out upon entry light up the tent, waved from side to side as the crowd sings along to karaoke classics.

As the stage is populated with the night's DJ, dancers, and MC, fire erupts in tandem with the crowd. The show has begun.

In addition to fridges of lager and adult-themed toys, the grand prize of the night is announced: Tickets for two to Las Vegas.

As round one begins, keeping up with numbers becomes challenging, as clouds of confetti rain down on contestants as they race to complete their bingo booklets. The MC shouts over the show's animated DJ, with the tent vibrating to the rhythm of contagious floor-fillers. If you want to win big, you better concentrate.

The second game begins and a giant teddy, a 5l bottle of Buckfast, and a cardboard cutout of Mickey Joe Hart is all to play for. While the stakes are high, there's still time for a song-song. An intermission sees the crowd perform a heartfelt rendition of the Goo Goo Dolls’ ‘Iris’, followed by a setlist consisting of the best rap songs of the 90s.

The music break over, it's time to play again. The second round sees a lucky player win the much-coveted Mickey Joe Hart cardboard cutout, but a simple ode to the Eurovision singer is not enough — as out walks none other than Mickey Joe Hart.

The crowd sings along to the singers 2003 entry, ‘We’ve Got The World’, along with a tribute to 1994's winning ‘Rock n Roll Kids’. An acoustic set ensues, before round three gets under way.

As the final round ends, countless sing-a-longs, an acoustic set from a Eurovision legend and a trip to Las Vegas won by two lucky players makes this a night to remember — Bingo Loco XXL's LATM debut has been a resounding success.

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