Evita (Dir/J.Lloyd) -OAT 2019 / Barbican ‘20 / Palladium ‘25

What are “long knickers”??

Knickerbockers!

Errr, female equivalent of boxers?! Not sure what retail description is for what she had on lol, hopefully someone who’s also seen them can help out!

As a big gay, deffo describing knickers not one of my talents....

Ok so she has so little regard for the crowd, she can’t even be bothered to put a frock on for it?

Thank god she’s keeping her knickers on, in that case.

(Shut up @theatremonkey )

From WoS Facebook feed.

So, I loved this but it is obviously a more challenging piece than I was expecting. My friend is going with her mum and aunt later in the run, I showed her a picture of the stage and she was a bit shocked. She then asked where the balcony was... I wasn't sure what to tell her! I am not sure she will 'get it'

Loved it, loved it, loved it. Exactly what I was hoping for and far exceeded my expectations. The abstract approach works much better than I thought it would (although I'm not sure how easily you'd follow the plot if you weren't familiar with the show) and the whole ethos of this production has increased poignancy in the age of social media and 'fake news'. Lloyd's vision is big, bold, bitchy, and unashamed. He's not afraid to come down strongly on the damning side of the fence regarding Eva's ambition, and that makes a real change. Gone is the ambiguity of how much she truly loves the people (or her lovers), gone is the bitch/saint superposition, this is Evita through her own eyes with no holds barred, unafraid to use people and do whatever she has to in order to climb the ladder and achieve immortality. Perhaps the most impressive of Lloyd's feats is making The Art of the Possible and Peron's Latest Flame - in my opinion the only two dull parts of the show - into engaging and interesting scenes. As others have said, the last 20 minutes are more affecting than ever before, with the confrontation between Eva and Che, Eva's demise, and a haunting montage, all staged simply but to raw effect.

Samantha Pauly is simply sensational in the title role - there's no other word for it. Her voice glides through the score effortlessly, from shimmering head voice to soaring belt, and no opting out of tricky segments (there's even a cheeky extra high note thrown in at the end of Rainbow High, which I've never heard anyone add before). When you combine her with the gorgeous and chaotically energetic Trent Saunders as Che, I'd hazard a guess that this could be the best the score has ever been sung. Notably, the leading duo's diction is exquisite and last night I could make out lyrics that sometimes evade me even on cast recordings. Mention should also be made of Ektor Rivera and Frances Mayli McCann, who excel in their roles of Peron and The Mistress.

Fabian Aloise brings his best work yet to the choreography here, with chaotic sassy energy flowing through every move from Eva's poses as she dreams of Buenos Aires to the begging lower classes in The Money Kept Rolling In. I particularly loved the geometry of his choreo - the ensemble constantly forming moving arrays, circles, lines, that flex as they make use of the staircase set. When you add the lighting - at times feeling like it's pulled straight from an arena rock tour - you get an exquisite picture up on that stage.

And the band, oh the band. They are simply divine. The orchestrations are lush and vibrant, an intertwining meld of rock and musical theatre, and there's no scrimping on numbers, with each section big enough to produce the full sound that we need from this score.

Regent's Park are officially 2 for 2 on their ALW revamps. Which is next?

Edit: oh and the balloon dress was indeed gone last night too, so looks like they've binned it for good. And for those who are interested, Lauren Drew (of Heathers and Sweet Charity) is 2nd cover Eva after Marsha Songcome.

This production is completely bonkers in parts but there were elements I really liked - and well done to Jamie Lloyd for trying something new. There's no point trying to replicate Hal Prince's original - it's timeless and in a league of its own - so at least striving for something fresh and different is to be applauded, even if (in my view) there are times it fails spectacularly. However, when it does work (as in "And the Money..." and "Waltz for Che and Eva") it's pretty exciting stuff. Samantha Pauly sings this most demanding of scores superbly but her "Argentina" left me cold (very poorly delivered and the whole point of the song being a political speech and not a song is completely lost). Trent Saunders is good but he lacks what the best of the Che portrayals have had (a mix of rage and cheeky humour). And Ektor Rivera is excellent but a Juan Peron he is not - JP was 25 years older than Eva at the time of her death; Ektor looks like her kid brother. I thought the ensemble was terrific, bits of the choreography truly exciting and some of the staging of the ensemble set pieces really worked. And I liked (and this does revert to the original) the disrobing of the oligarchs so they become the descamicados. It'll be really interesting to read the reviews and see if this brave but flawed revival has a wider life. I hope those still to go have a very enjoyable time.

Saw this last night, and it's thrilling and topical and unmissable!

Some spoilers follow. . .

Never a fan of elitist "subtlety" or sentimentality, Jamie Lloyd here loads Tim Rice's cynical sardonic lyrics with all the bite and muscle, all the showbiz pizzazz and fireworks, of the populist age he is critiquing. Evita is the X factor and TOWIE, she is will-to-power Madonna, she is fake news, she is Trump firing up his deplorables (aka descamisados), she is Ozymandias (as depicted in the enormous rusted out lettering of her name, and in Samantha Pauly's tragic final awareness).

This is a truly brilliant interpretation of "Evita" and should be seen in the evening, with the full showbiz spectacle of the pyrotechnics intact, and with the incandescent Samantha Pauly in it, before an inevitable transfer.

Echoes of other Jamie Lloyd productions and preoccupations are here, from the presentation of human hierarchies as in steps (as in the Harold Pinter season), to the utilisation of entertainment and communications technology as a source of power (as in his Richard III), to the amoral degenerate darkness of the showbiz soul (as in his Doctor Faustus), and here he has the perfect vehicle for speaking to the major themes of the age in Tim Rice's witty sly suspicious cynicism and the easily weaponised emotionalism and easily manipulated huge heart of Andrew Lloyd Webber.

Pauly is so X factor, so much more determined and ruthless than her manipulative weaponised backstory, and yet as an empowered woman in a man's world, she is nonetheless admirable in her will-to-power wily-won't-take-sh*t-Madonna-material-girl-way (it's so obvious seeing this why Madonna HAD to play Evita), and despite the absolute cynicism and ruthlessness of Lloyd's take on Evita, Pauly embodies a universally human kind of ambition, such that when a universal kind of human frailty overtakes her, it is still immensely sad.

After seeing more sentimental, wishy washy takes on Evita by Elena Roger and Madalena Alberto in previous productions, which diluted the acidity of Rice's lyrics, I found I was much more edge-of-my-seat engaged by the bitter tartness and sharpness of vision of this production, though I acknowledge that anyone attached to lionising Evita the person might feel revulsed at this kind of clarity.

One great boon of this production was being able at last to forget Marti Pellow's Che, who was not in fine voice when I saw him, as Trent Saunders is SENSATIONAL as Che, hitting and modulating every note and emotion, every caustic beat of the lyrics, even as he assumes Mel Gibson Passion of the Christ levels of abuse.

And as others have noted above, when Frances Mayli McCann performs "Another Suitcase in Another Hall," her ability to counterpoint the savageness and cynicism all around her with tender sincere expression is exquisitely and wonderfully heartbreaking.

For me, this is an Evita for the age, a solid five stars that I expect to sell out!

Wow that is one hell of a review Steve! Next Wednesday can't come quick enough for me!

jgblunners and Steve Thanks so much for your reviews. You express more eloquently than me everything I felt about this production.

So thrilled to hear such positive reviews coming through now people are starting to see the show.

As I've said I loved this and found it absolutely thrilling. Without doubt the must see event of the Summer IMO.
Can't go again till September sadly (just started new job) but literally cannot wait!