Evita: 'TikTok musical theatre' or 'total triumph'?

Rachel Zegler dazzles in Jamie Lloyd's 'radically reconceived' revival – but the plot is difficult to follow

Rachel Zegler performs Don't Cry for Me Argentina from the Palladium's balcony.
'Magnetic': Rachel Zegler takes to the balcony at London Palladium
(Image credit: Stills Press / Alamy)

When it emerged Eva Perón (Rachel Zegler) would be belting out "Don't Cry for Me Argentina" from the balcony of the London Palladium to passers-by each night for free in Jamie Lloyd's new revival of "Evita", some members of the paying audience were furious, said Arifa Akbar in The Guardian. "What are these grumps complaining about?"

It's a "sensational moment" that's "very fitting" given Perón's "disdain for the wealthy". Her "magnetic" reprise of the showstopping number is "triumphantly addressed" to the waiting crowd in the street, while theatregoers inside watch her performance projected onto a screen.

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Irenie Forshaw is a features writer at The Week, covering arts, culture and travel. She began her career in journalism at Leeds University, where she wrote for the student newspaper, The Gryphon, before working at The Guardian and The New Statesman Group. Irenie then became a senior writer at Elite Traveler, where she oversaw The Experts column.