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

I've booked in unpredictable mid-September. I like the Open Air best when the sun sets and it gets dark. I held off until enough people said nice enough things on here to get over the apparently controversial staging, and at 24 pages I think we've hit it.

Well, this is a bit good, isn’t it. I’ll take Samantha Pauly’s “slightly shrill but actually acted like someone who’s trying to stir up the political system” approach over many a “perfectly sung but a bit bland” performance I’ve seen over the years.

I don't think this would work so well in daylight. Some of the lighting effects really add to the show

100% chance of heavy rain for the entire performance tonight according to the forecast.

I know. My friend is already talking about bailing out and doing something else. 

I'm really eager to see this! Has anyone got tickets last minuet in person, if so how did they get on location/price wise?
Never seen anything here, so any advise on where to sit/where to avoid would be greatly appreciated.

What do they do if it is rained off?

Very true - I wouldn't mind sitting in the rain and watching it, wearing the appropriate clothing of course, I even bought some emergency ponchos just in case.  But they are likely to abandon the show because of the rain (quite rightly) for the safety of the performers.  They can't be kick ball changing all over the shop like Bambi on ice!!  And if you're already there when they cancel it, it's too late to do something else.   So I think I am going to take the pragmatic view that the show won't go ahead, and dayseat something else instead.  From what I understand, if the show is abandoned, they will let you rebook for a different day.  Shame, I was really looking forward to it.

You get a credit note that lasts 10 years! I think it’s super super rare for them to quit a performance. I saw JCS there last year and it poured down. They stopped the show, mopped the stage and continued!

I think it's very case-by-case. On Wednesday they stopped the show about 2 mins before the first big dance number - subsequently seeing what is required of the dancers it looks like it would have been pretty dangerous in slippy conditions so that made sense. When it was still raining 10mins later the Stage Manager came on again to say they had checked with Met Office satellites and were sure it would abate very soon (which it did). And they danced on in the dry.

However when it rained again towards the end of Act 1 and over the last 20 mins of Act 2 all of which were a bit less intense choreography-wise they just played on through it. I guess if it's not actually dangerous to carry on, it makes as much sense for them to play on as not (the audience will only be sitting in the rain either way). Calling off completely must be a total last resort as it must cost them thousands to do so. I have to say with a mac on and a plastic bag keeping the water off my legs, I was enjoying it enough to forget it was raining.

Having said all of that, I imagine if it's mid-downpour at 7:45pm and the Met Office suggest it's going to go on longer than they can ask the audience to hang around, it's probably going to be cancelled...

I won't say it's the show of the year for me but I enjoyed it last night. It's not for purists, that's for sure. It's Evita stripped bare and that, I think, makes the story more dramatic. This Eva Peron is not a good mother of the nation, not a heroine with a tragic fate, she's not "Santa Evita" - she's a young woman with too much ambition and not that much to offer. The real Eva was (in today's terms) more a popculture star than the first lady and I think this production depicts it pretty well. It's not a story about the myth of Eva Peron. It's a story of a woman who became Eva Peron. So yes, Eva in this production is... not that likeable (to say the least) but the final scenes, when she realizes she is dying, the end, finito, the fairytale is over - they're pretty moving. After all, leaving this world aged only 33 is something nobody wants. It's scary, sad and unfair. No spoilers but there is one moment when you can tell how mad she is because of what is going to happen.

The only thing I hated was a lady next to me, constantly trying to film/take photos. Urrrgghhh. Why.

So the grassbanks are actually an ok option, if a bit uncomfortable for the entire show as it gets cold/damp pretty quickly. If you want a seat at the top near the steps queuing before the doors open seems to be necessary. As mentioned by someone up-thread, I would strongly recommend going in the evening to enjoy the effects.

I am actually pretty aligned to a lot of the pretty positive comments here - the effects at the start are great (but at a certain point it feels like they're just trying to get value for money by using them at every opportunity and the effect lessens).

Most impressive was the guy playing Che - really enjoyed the singing and the way he played off Evita. Peron appeared to be shy and passive, which was strange in the context of the role. Evita was expressive but shrill. This probably wasn't helped by sitting so close to the speakers. Loved the dancing - so energetic.

I haven't seen Evita before so I can't compare but thought the score was beautiful and I did appreciate that the production was trying to create a distinct atmosphere.

Regarding the rain - this happened with JCS - stage manager had to come and made quite a funny comment on not being able to safely crucify in the rain. Luckily they ended up mopping and resuming.