EDINBURGH 2026: Review: EVITA TOO, Zoo Southside
Sh!t Theatre deconstructs musical history and political erased legacy in a sharp, hilarious performance piece.
Becca Biscuit and Louise Mothersole, collectively Sh!t Theatre, do not construct standard musicals, nor do they aim to satisfy traditional theatrical cravings. Evita Too is a fierce, eccentric, and meticulously researched performance piece that dismantles how history gets sanitized, misremembered, and commercialized for main stages.
The narrative centers on Isabel Perón: the world’s first female president, systematically erased from memory while Andrew Lloyd Webber turned Eva Perón into a glittering pop culture icon. Sh!t Theatre frames the evening around audience votes, forcing a choice between dense historiographical mind maps and silliest options like nude roller-skating with Lloyd Webber. The crowd consistently picks spectacle over nuance, proving the duo's sharp commentary on populism and public manipulation in real time.
Their research is startlingly deep. Details of Isabel restoring Evita’s embalmed corpse on her dining table sit alongside the absurdities of her advisor "El Brujo" and the company's real-life quest across Spain to locate the forgotten president. Heavy political trauma is laced with clever cultural shorthand: Margaret Thatcher is referenced strictly as Gillian Anderson, Elaine Paige makes a balcony eulogy appearance, and real, condescending reviews from male critics are projected across the set for direct mockery. Beneath the frantic energy lies an unexpectedly vulnerable core exploring personal grief, egg freezing, and legacy.
For lovers of polished commercial musical theatre, this chaotic, confrontational approach requires an adjustment. Yet as a piece of political commentary, it lands with remarkable force. Absurd theatre is, ultimately, the only possible way to display such an absurd story.
Evita Too plays at Zoo Southside until 30 August 2026.
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