Star director Jamie Lloyd has provided many golden theatrical moments, from a brutal production of Oscar Wilde’s Salome many years ago to his work on Harold Pinter’s plays. And he is an expert at musicals, with brave productions of Stephen Sondheim’s work and an exciting appreciation of Andrew Lloyd Webber, including a smash-hit production of Sunset Boulevard. Lloyd’s productions are always daring, with a ‘takeaway’ to remember after the show. But this time, with the balcony scene in this latest revival of Lloyd Webber’s Eva Peron musical, Lloyd tops them all.
The rendition of ‘Don’t Cry For Me Argentina’, staged outside the auditorium and relayed to those watching inside, is a great stunt as crowds show up to watch it at nine each night. It’s also brilliant – goosebump brilliant. Lloyd has staged the show before, a superb production at Regent’s Park, but this grand venue works even better. It’s not a question of pimping up the production – the staging is still minimal, although Jon Clark’s lighting design is advanced. It’s the effort to bring out the politics of the show that is, arguably, more urgent than ever – a genuine rage about social divides that provides a vital, angry feel.
“screw the middle classes”
The passion is projected by Lloyd’s star, Rachel Zeigler, who takes the title role in her West End debut. I’d suggest it’s this spirit that makes her performance so great, even though she sings superbly. When she screams “screw the middle classes” it’s the only time Zeigler’s voice isn’t beautiful. She has identified the kernel to her character and does not let go. There’s a vicious sense of humour to this Evita. She is bored by weakness, ambitious, unscrupulous and not very nice! Her powerful voice, which is also remarkably clear, sounds strangely old-fashioned and is utterly compelling.
Zeigler is also, like a lot of Lloyd’s leads, a big star. It’s perfect casting and cleverly leaned into. Much of the show feels like a pop concert, with Evita as the performer, her name, literally, written large. The response is fanatical (especially to ‘Buenos Aires’). Fabian Aloise’s work as choreographer and the amazing cast come to the fore. The dancing is terrific. Filled with humour and danger, acrobatic and at times otherworldly, many movements are robotic, or should that be puppet like? Because what sympathy we have for Evita is about the chances she didn’t have, how she had to exploit others to avoid being exploited. The moving moments in the show feed into the anger that powers it.
“star quality”
Aloise and Lloyd show such rigid control that it could cause problems. Take the interactions between characters. For most of the time, the cast looks out towards the audience, rather than at each other: Evita always has her eye on public perception, on her legacy. There’s only one person she is really interested in; the show also belongs to Che Guevara, and it brings us to yet another stellar performance.
Diego Andres Rodriguez, who takes the role as the Communist rebel, is fantastic. His voice is flexible, his physicality astounding, and to say he is a match for Zeigler is to award the highest praise. Again, he makes the politics of the piece clear – a rebel filled with rage. Rodriguez is another West End debut we feel very lucky to see – in a production so full of “star quality” that it could well go down in history.
Until 6 September 2025
Photos by Marc Brenner