EVITA

Tuesday 11th - 15th March 2025

Evita charts the young and ambitious Eva Peron’s meteoric rise to sainthood. Set in Argentina between 1934-1952, the Tony-winning musical follows Eva Duarte on her journey from poor, illegitimate child to ambitious actress to, wife of military leader-turned-president Juan Peron, the most powerful woman in Latin America, before her death from cancer at age 33.

The events in Evita’s life are presented in song and commented on by the show’s narrator, Che. Well-known numbers from Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical masterpiece include “Don’t Cry for Me Argentina”, “Oh What a Circus”, “Buenos Aires” and “Another Suitcase in Another Hall.”

NODA REPORT - Author: Amanda Green

Date: 15th March 2025

Society: Saffron Walden Musical Theatre Company

Venue: Saffron Walden Town Hall

Type of Production: Musical

Director: Matthew Chancellor

Musical Director: Paul Garner

Choreographer: Siobhan Austin-Guest

Any theatre production will present the society with a challenge, even more so with such an iconic show as Evita: how to do justice to the original while keeping it fresh and interesting for today’s audience.

On entering the theatre, the audience could see the stage, bare except for the debris left behind over a lifetime in Latin America, spread across the front. The ensemble entered, in very low lighting, hard to see, deliberately underwhelming, singing of the death of Evita. Their dull costumes, sepia like the subdued lighting and blending into the sepia of the projections behind them. Suddenly, they were seamlessly walking around Evita’s coffin, in and out of the spotlight, carrying candles, creating the first of many scenes that appeared as if by magic, with any necessary props, without the audience being disturbed by lengthy blackouts or obvious scene changes. It became immediately evident that this was going to be far from a run-of-the-mill show, The audience was going to be treated to surprise after surprise, with outstanding elements created by cast and crew alike.

The projections set the scenes, without being distracting. The backdrop became as if another character in the telling of the story, the set ingeniously designed by Matthew Chancellor, George Alexander and Becky Stolworthy. In a biopic, the audience is often left wishing that they had done a bit of homework before watching the show, trying to remember key facts about the protagonist’s life. This was not the case here, as the information that was projected filled in any gaps, adding an extra, valuable dimension to the production. The authentic movie footage was used so skilfully, as one of many elements that fitted together like pieces of a jigsaw. Nothing in this show stood alone, so whereas it is usual to pick out the choreography, orchestration, characterisation, set design, etc etc in any particular scene, each of these elements blended together so well, that everything was synchronised in a remarkable way. There are many delightful examples of this teamwork of stunning choreography by Siobhan Austin-Guest, excellent musical direction by Paul Garner and innovative direction by Matthew Chancellor, such as when Eva was in the coach going to Buenos Aires, where the actors were moving in time with the projection behind them, the coach simply and brilliantly depicted by an actor holding a single steering wheel, so that everyone in the theatre felt they were on that journey with them; or the scene where the crowd were exiting the stage by having some moving forwards and some backwards into the wings, perfectly timed to match the moving pictures which drew the audience into the heart of the action as if they themselves were involved in the choreography.

It was a little disappointing that some of the text in the projections was blocked by the cast, who had often been placed in front of the screen. Perhaps if the text had been higher, or the cast positioned slightly differently on the stage, this could have been rectified?

Each of the principals gave well-executed performances. David Smithet was a convincing Perón and Becky Stolworthy as his discarded mistress gave a gentle, moving rendition of Another Suitcase in Another Hall. Andy McPhee entertained with excellent diction and stage presence as Magaldi and Bob Rawlinson-Mills as Ché provided a successful counterbalance to the adoration of the masses. Alex Outlaw truly excelled in her portrayal of Eva. She was a joy to watch and to listen to throughout the show.

The singing was superb, but there were occasions where the balancing of the mics meant that it was sometimes difficult to hear one or two of the cast members above the volume of the music.

The ensemble was outstanding. There was not one weak link, adults and children all giving exceptional performances, in perfect time with no pulling focus, with their accompanying musicians giving equally excellent performances out of sight of the audience. Special mention must be given to the two scenes with the military marchers/government officials. The choreography and execution of it was beyond magnificent.

Rachel Betts deserves congratulating for the stunning array of costumes, and the director handled the quick change into military jackets in such an inspired way that this is a good example of how staging challenges can be overcome with a little bit of quirky humour that in no way detracts from the seriousness of the material, but gives the audience so much more than if it were just a dry re-telling of a well-known story. Another illustration of this is the popping of the balloons, which initially seemed strange, somewhat funny and possibly a little out of place, but quickly turned into something extremely sinister, shocking and emotional, as the characters were led away one by one with an executioner’s sack placed over their head. This merging of comedy and horror was so effective.

There were plenty of other gems, too many to mention individually, that contributed to making this an innovative and exceptional interpretation of such a well-known story. The Society has shown that teamwork is essential to turn something good into something great, so congratulations to everyone involved in creating a production so unique out of something so familiar.

Thank you as well for being so welcoming. It is very much appreciated.