Evita

How three 15 year olds summon up all the emotions required for shows like this I will never know but in this one Jake Steers, James Brandon and Lucie Cooper did just that, from the word go it was a roller coaster of emotion, pathos and fantastic singing.
The first love interest of Eva was Magaldi played by Jodan Moxon who sang and also accompanied himself on the guitar; Jodan was excellent, portraying this character who was to appear again later in her life.
The other love interest and eventual husband of Eva Duarte was Peron played by James Bradshaw who at the time of their meeting had a young mistress played by Eibhlin Kissack, she sang her song 'Another Suitcase' beautifully giving the audience no doubts whatever about her character. James was able to get all the emotion required for this part, not only the elation when he became president but also the sadness at the end when his wife Eva died, James’ singing was first class.
Jake Steers as Che was perfect narrating the story in between the scenes of this Schools Edition of Evita, at least that it what it was billed as but I would defy anyone to compare it with an adult professional performance. Jake had a most convincing accent for this character and it never faltered once bringing out the true grit of the person he portrayed.
Of course a show like this cannot go on without a good all rounder in the leading part and Lucie Cooper was not only a good all rounder but was brilliant. How she coped with the various emotions required for a part like this I will never know but she was able to pull it all out of the bag each time. When her husband Juan Peron was inaugurated as President she performed the famous 'Don’t Cry for me Argentina' and was able to show the elation of this period in her life but was also able to change to a totally different emotion at time when she was dying and sang her 'Lament'. Well done Lucie.
A great show with not only great leads but also a brilliant supporting cast, well done to all involved.

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