Evita - In conversation with the team

Before rehearsals, members of the Evita team met in Curve’s Green Room Café for breakfast to discuss the production. Below is an excerpt from this talk:

Tyrone Huntley: What inspired you to choose Evita?

Nikolai Foster: In some ways it’s a bit of a left-field Christmas show, but we like to mix it up. Last year we did The Wizard Of Oz, which was family orientated and it felt like this year we should do something a bit more grown up. We love Andrew and Tim’s work, so when we heard Evita was available, we jumped at the chance.

Tyrone: For a story that’s based in mid-20th century, what themes are we exploring to bring it into 2023 for Leicester’s audience?

Nikolai: The show looks at women in politics, it looks at corruption, when you acquire power, how does it change you? There’s so many of these ideas, whether it’s women in politics, misogyny in general, women in a male-dominated landscape, that make it really relevant.

Tyrone: Adam, you’ve spoken about starting with inspiration from Latin American and South American dance and using that to bring it into 2023. Can you talk a little bit about that?

Adam Murray: For me, the drive is the music. Along with the story and the narrative, the way that we move has to be connected to the way it sounds. I wanted to honour its geographical roots, but also to step away and use those as inspiration to find a movement language that feels contemporary and something that an audience can connect with in terms of what they’re sitting and watching today. If I can still honour its birth, and meet somewhere in the middle, then it becomes dynamic and new.

Tyrone: My character Che, who we’re referring to as The Narrator, is an everyman. He’s an observer and is helping to tell the story, as opposed to being a specific character in it. How did you prepare for your role, Martha?

Martha Kirby: It was very much from a feminist point of view, wanting to display the disparity in politics and the treatment of women. I found it really fascinating to see our female politicians first addressing to the public and then when they’re stepping down – the disparity in their body language and the way they address people, their tone of voice completely shifts.

Nikolai: Historically there’s such scrutiny on our female leaders. Eva was a visionary, using her celebrity to speak to a wider demographic, and influence politics. Would she be called a divisive figure if it were a male politician?

Tyrone: Stephen, you’ve worked on a lot of Andrew’s shows, how did you approach Evita?

Stephen Brooker: I’ve never seen it – but I’ve always listened to it. I mean, it’s iconic, isn’t it? The political thing is of great interest, but it’s stood the test of time because the music, and rhythm, when we’re speaking and singing with very strange melodies that we have to learn – that’s what makes it great theatre music. We’ve all heard it many times. We’ve heard it, but have we really listened to it?

Tyrone: What can audiences expect from Evita this Christmas?

Nikolai: I think they’ll get what they always get when they come to see us at Curve. It’s created with love and integrity; it’s created with care and imagination. We want to give people a great night out. We’re not touring it; we’re not going into the West End. It’s here, it’s Leicester, it’s one time only. It’s once in a lifetime.

Watch the full video below