Review: Sh!t Theatre: Evita Too (Southbank Centre)

Review by Hywel Farrow-Wilton

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Think you know the story of Evita? Well, forget about Eva Peron because Evita Too by Sh!t Theatre is all about the woman who came after her: Juan Peron’s often forgotten third wife, Isabel Peron, the first female President of any country in the history of the world. Evita Too interrogates how legacies are created and how they exist in the cultural consciousness, especially a woman’s legacy and, in true Sh!t Theatre form, they do it in a style that is wondrously outrageous, unapologetically subversive, fiercely political and absolutely hilarious. A mega-musical political thriller in the form of an anarchic cabaret show dissecting the complexities of populism. 

Theatre makers Rebecca Biscuit and Louise Mothersole have been working together as Sh!t Theatre for the last 15 years. Having last performed the show in London at Soho Theatre in 2022, Evita Too is bigger and better than ever for its latest run at Southbank Centre. Their mission is to “make politically engaged live performance with a DIY aesthetic using a collage of documentary, song, comedy and multimedia”. It is no wonder that they chose Isabel Peron to be the subject of their latest show! Being the first female President of any country is an inherently fascinating credit to be able to put on your CV and Sh!t Theatre has unearthed so many fascinating and frankly bizarre moments of her life that the audience wouldn’t have believed if they hadn’t been showing their sources. 

The name of the show comes from the fact that “Evita is there too”, which is true in a few different ways. Eva Peron (Evita) is literally present in the show as a puppet, while the musical Evita undeniably has a very strong presence in the room. Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice are the subject of some very good jokes, but the point Sh!t Theatre makes is that the popularity of Evita is how most people know of Eva Peron. Considering the fact that the version of ‘Eva’ is a fictionalised version, this is where Sh!t Theatre works its magic. They are determined Isabel Peron will not suffer the same fate as Eva, so tell her story before Lloyd Webber can get his lawyers to secure the theatrical rights first, reclaiming a woman’s legacy before it can get overwritten by a man. 

Isabel’s story is told in a style that is very much documentary meets musical theatre meets late-night cabaret - a combination that definitely needs to be used more often. The two of them have clearly done copious research on her, including trips to Buenos Aires and even attempts to visit Isabel herself in Madrid. These escapades are mostly told through videos projected onto a screen at the back of the stage, with the videos being created by Biscuit & Mothersole alongside Mark Morreau as Video Associate. The video designs are a lot of fun with a great mix of historical footage and Microsoft WordArt that creates many laughs. Fabulous disco pop tracks written by Biscuit & Mothersole are set to hilarious lyrics that are every bit as fun as they are informative. 

Zoe Hurwitz’s set Design is minimal but effective, especially the two wooden hand chairs, which are used as an homage to the Cueva de las Manos (Cave of the hands) in Argentina. The large pink curtains covering the stage, as a nod to the Argentinian Presidential residence, The Casa Rosada (The Pink House) was a particularly nice touch. However, an absolute highlight was the beautifully grotesque puppets by Freddie Hayes. Their inclusion was half hilarious and half disturbing, especially when you are discussing the complicated life of Isabel Peron. Direction by Ursula Martinez just about managed to fill the wide stage in the Purcell Room of the Southbank Centre. There was certainly space for some more dynamic visuals in some of the songs as a couple of moments did get a bit static, but the effervescent performances from Biscuit & Mothersole do much to keep everyone thoroughly entertained.

Evita Too is a stunningly fast-paced, anarchic, ludicrous show that is as fun as it is politically charged. There’s a great deal to be liked by many people in this show, from its sheer entertainment factor to its deeper probing of ideas around control, power, populism and legacy. Even if you’re just a fan of interesting history, you will find great joy in this show. Whilst it’s not a family show by any means, if you have a healthy sense of humour, a keen interest in history alongside off-the-rails comedy and want to see a fairly light but still steadfastly political show then Evita Too is definitely the one for you.  

Evita Too plays at Southbank Centre until 31st December. Tickets from https://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/whats-on/sht-theatre-evita-too/

Photos by Ali Wright