Why Rachel Zegler's Evita balcony scene is the best (and cheapest) show in the West End

Telegraph

4 hours ago

The hottest ticket in the West End this summer? It's another stripped-back, sexed-up spin on a classic by maverick theatre director Jamie Lloyd – Evita. And his star just so happens to be Rachel Zegler, the breakout talent of Steven Spielberg's West Side Story whose glittering career has been somewhat blighted in recent months by her lead role in Disney's mega-flop Snow White remake.
Fans hoping to catch a glimpse of the 24-year-old Zegler belting out Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's timeless songs surely would have been more than happy to cough up the hundreds of pounds for tickets. But the most striking feature of Lloyd's production might just leave them slightly peeved: protagonist Eva Perón's storming second-half curtain raiser, when the doomed heroine appears on a balcony to belt out Don't Cry for Me Argentina, takes place outside.
Yes, you read that right. Instead of Zegler appearing above the paying audience inside the Palladium, she wanders out to its front-facing balcony on Argyll Street, where the performance can be viewed by any lucky passer-by just happening to be strolling through Soho. With the lovely sight of Five Guys to your right, and the sound of shrieks erupting from Oxford Circus station on your left, you can enjoy one of musical theatre's most beautiful songs – performed by one of its brightest young stars – for the grand total of £0. Those poor theatre lovers inside, meanwhile, must make do with a live video link transposed onto a massive screen.
Last night, keen to see what all the fuss was about – and to weep along to Don't Cry for Me… without shelling out for a proper ticket – I headed down to the Palladium to join the throng of curious people gathered outside. By the time Zegler appeared on the balcony, at around 8.55pm, a crowd of around 600 people were standing, mouths agape and phone cameras held aloft, as she effortlessly performed the song made famous worldwide by the likes of Elaine Page and Madonna.
Bar a few metal fences erected immediately outside the theatre, and some stressed out-looking Palladium security staff tasked with controlling the crowd, security was relaxed. Given Zegler's post Snow White-infamy – she has been criticised for her pro-Palestine activism and dismissal of Disney's more old-fashioned themes – I couldn't help but wonder about her safety: stood up there with the world to see, what was stopping some crazy person from lobbing a tomato or two?
Luckily, there was no food thrown. However, even some of Zegler's own fans are miffed by Lloyd's decision to give away Evita's peak musical moment for free. Lucy, 26, from County Antrim, Northern Ireland, told me she had paid £150 for stall seats later in the show's summer-long run; now, having seen the 'big moment' in the street for free, she's not sure whether to hold onto her ticket or not. One American couple said they were debating whether to still splash out on tickets or spend their cash on a different West End show.
On X, one disgruntled fan said they 'go to the theatre to share the same space with a performer,' while another fumed 'Sorry, are you saying I've paid £350 for 2 tickets and she's singing the biggest number outside at people who haven't paid?'
The staging makes perfect sense from a symbolic point of view: Perón's focus is her people, the ordinary men and women tussling and hustling in the streets below. The paying patrons inside, one concludes, are the rich elite she contemptuously finds herself a part of after marrying into high society. And in person, thanks to Zegler's gift of a voice, it is stunning (if you can block out the classic-London sirens and car horns long enough to concentrate, that is).
It's also a masterstroke when it comes to creating hype. Monday night's crowd of 600 will surely grow night on night as word spreads between friends and on social media, granting Zegler the chance to sing for a real crowd. Furthermore, it might prove a clever way to get a new generation into theatre (and seats).
A trio of teenage Londoners I spoke to outside were quick to praise Lloyd's innovation, saying they would never usually be able to afford pricey West End shows as a friend group. Caroline, 57, from Camden, agreed with them, despite having already bought tickets for a later performance. 'If this gets people watching theatre who wouldn't usually come, I think it's a good thing. It will put the bug in them!'
The Marmite of theatre directors, Lloyd has made a name for himself with a series of starry productions that eschew traditional, elaborate stage design and props in favour of disarmingly basic productions. His recent, critically-adored Much Ado About Nothing put Tom Hiddleston and Hayley Atwell's Benedick and Beatrice in a pink confetti-strewn disco; far less revered was his stark take on The Tempest, an embarrassing blot on Sigourney Weaver's otherwise glittering career.
His choice to have Zegler perform Evita's most famous song among the hoi polloi isn't out of character either: his Olivier and Tony-winning reboot of another Lloyd Webber classic, Sunset Boulevard, sent a character out onto the street for one scene.
His Evita will inevitably divide critics. Fans who have coughed up hundreds for tickets will probably be furious, too. But for the massive crowd present outside this was just a fabulous way to spend an evening in London. The fact it was free was simply the icing on the cake.