Before it became a hit musical in 1978, Evita started out as a rock opera concept album – and those origins echo throughout director Nikolai Foster’s contemporary reimagining. The stage is lined with scaffolding and the lighting rigs are exposed in Michael Taylor’s stylish set, which recalls backstage at Glastonbury but also (in one of many confusing pivots) behind the scenes at the theatre. Lighting designer Joshie Harriette’s spotlights feature memorably throughout: they caress Evita, dazzle and delight in her, and sometimes even set like the sun.
The production often looks beautiful, but it doesn’t make an awful lot of sense. Evita is arguably Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s most ambitious work and needs a robust context, not necessarily faithful to the original but still consistent and illuminating. Foster’s interpretation never settles and, unfortunately, ends up diminishing the power of its real-life characters.
