Evita

The story of Eva Peron’s rise and fall begins in a small-town nightclub and ends in the Casa Rosada in Buenos Aires.  Eva’s steady climb up the greasy pole of her ambition is not really about place, so the design dispensed entirely with painted flats and cloths, apart from some flown banners deployed as revolutionary fervour takes hold.  Instead, the sense of place was cleverly conjured up using a handful of properties – a couple of tables, a few chairs – which served to focus the story on its more human aspects, such as character and emotion.  This was evident in numbers such as “Good night and thank you” in which the minimalist staging kept the focus on the succession of relationships that facilitated Eva’s advancement.  For most of the performance the only installation on stage was a scaffolding bridge – more or less indispensable for the iconic balcony scene, but used throughout to build tableaux which helped to provide context to the narrative.  The opening of “Buenos Aires”, with its quick transition to crowds and excitement, provided a good example of this.

That context was primarily conjured up by the excellent supporting cast.  Each individual apparently had a roster of roles – a cinema-goer here, an army general there, a reporter here, a dancer there – and each and every appearance was finely judged and bore the hallmarks of rehearsal and polish.  The strategic planning necessary to realise this presentation, and the attention to detail required to draw such fine performances out of so many members of the company, was deeply impressive.

The company is also fortunate to have so many capable dancers in its ranks.  The choreography was wonderfully atmospheric, with thematic overtones of the Argentinian tango plus a dash of “West Side Story”.  Here again the attention to detail was evident in the posture of the dancers and the accuracy of the signature moves.  There were fewer men dancing than women, but the male chorus had clearly spent hours perfecting the syncopated marching of the army generals.  There was barely a boot out of place as they executed their routines.  Choreography crossed over into musical staging in “The Art of the Possible”, in which a single dancer, wrapped in an Argentinian flag, progressively eliminated the generals vying for power until only Peron was left.

 “Evita” is unusual in that it is completely sung through, with no spoken dialogue at all.  The complex harmonies and rhythms were executed almost flawlessly, and the essentially unaccompanied sections, sung by smaller and larger groups, were pitch perfect with clear diction and lovely tone.  The Musical Director had evidently also worked hard with the orchestra who gave an impressively polished performance; the violin, lead guitar and (presumably synthesised) accordion featured prominently and atmospherically.

This was a demonstration of how a clear vision, meticulous preparation and hard work can result in a truly memorable piece of theatre.

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