9.9.25

Evita at Loughborough Town Hall

Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Evita is a formidable challenge for any company. This sung-through epic charts the rise of Eva Perón, from humble beginnings to becoming Argentina’s First Lady. Loved by the masses and loathed by the elite, she built a legacy of glamour, ambition, and political power before her life was cut short by cancer at just 33. It’s a story that demands powerhouse vocals, razor-sharp storytelling, and a leading lady who can command the stage from the first note to the last. A tall order for any company – especially with Rachel Zegler recently lighting up the West End in the eponymous role.

LAOS’s production, directed by Sally Bruton, opens promisingly: the iconic EVITA lettering loomed over a stripped-back stage, with bare brick walls either side used as a canvas for projected black-and-white film reels. These projections provide a strong sense of period and place, evoking 1940s Argentina while giving the set a sparse, Jamie Lloyd-inspired aesthetic. Placards flashed useful context as the scenes shifted, a clever device for a sung-through musical that risks losing audiences without careful storytelling.

Despite the talent of the orchestra, the brass-heavy score frequently overwhelms the modest space, pushing the vocals into sharp, strained territory. This imbalance meant that much of the text—a vital lifeline for following the plot—is lost.

There are, however, sparks of promise. David Sturla gives a commanding turn as Che, narrating with clarity and authority. Helena Stone’s Evita revealed flashes of steel and vocal control, particularly in moments when she is freed from constant movement and allowed to focus on the character’s simmering disdain. Her performance deepens beautifully in the final act, when Evita’s declining health forces her to shed her armour, revealing rare vulnerability beneath the ambition. By contrast, her scenes with Perón (Richie Phillips) lack chemistry, suggesting more of a pragmatic alliance than a passionate romance; a valid choice, if not always dramatically compelling. Among the supporting cast, Rhianna Boulton offers a tender highlight as Perón’s mistress with “Another Suitcase in Another Hall,”.

Choreography is fun and ambitious, but occasionally under-rehearsed — particularly in the military-style sequences that rely on crisp precision. Still, it gives the production energy and colour, which balances out the otherwise stark stage.

For all its flaws, this production demonstrates glimpses of what Evita can be. With more balance between pit and performers, and sharper polish on the ensemble work, it could have matched its striking visuals with equal power in its storytelling. Overall, this Evita is a show of moments rather than momentum, a patchy but promising take on a notoriously tricky musical.