7 h. ago Everybody’s talking about Jamie Lloyd: the explosive rise of superstar director masterminding Evita

The maverick behind Tom Holland’s Romeo and Nicole Scherzinger’s Sunset Boulevard is now stunning passersby with Rachel Zegler’s Palladium balcony sceneRarely can a balcony have caused such a kerfuffle. But the row about the extramural staging of Don’t Cry for Me Argentina in Evita at the London Palladium is a sign of its director’s increasing celebrity status. Indeed I’m tempted to rephrase a number from an earlier Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice musical: “Jamie Lloyd Superstar, Do you think you’re what they say you are?” What, in short, does it tell us about our theatrical culture that this puckishly likable director has become a figure famed on both sides of the Atlantic?His beginnings, as a recent Vogue feature pointed out, were relatively modest. He grew up in rural Dorset, was turned on to live theatre by seeing Michael Jackson on tour and attended the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts. But, right from the start, there was something there. The first production of his th...

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3 d. ago ‘My heart is pounding’: Experiencing Rachel Zegler’s Evita balcony scene from the humble pavement

Paying theatregoers have bemoaned watching Don’t Cry For Me Argentina on livestream while passersby experience it live for free. But is it a seven-minute stunt worth waiting for?Move over Romeo: theatre’s second most famous balcony scene has stolen the show.Every night this week Rachel Zegler has emerged halfway through Jamie Lloyd’s production of Evita at the London Palladium to sing its biggest number to the Oxford Circus crowds. Last weekend the Hollywood ingenue was serenading surprised shoppers, but since her performance of Don’t Cry For Me Argentina went viral it’s become the hottest (free) ticket in the West End. Continue reading...

Politics

4 d. ago West End passersby see Rachel Zegler sing Don’t Cry For Me Argentina on balcony

The actress plays Eva Peron in Jamie Lloyd’s new production of hit musical Evita at the London Palladium.

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5 d. ago Rachel Zegler serenades the crowd for free in a new London production of 'Evita'

One of the biggest moments in a new production of “Evita” isn't on the stage

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6 d. ago Don’t cry for me, all you boozers! The trouble with shifting Evita’s big balcony number from stage to street

In the new Evita at the London Palladium, Rachel Zegler sings from the theatre’s actual balcony – meaning the big-paying audience doesn’t experience what passersby get for free. Could this gimmick catch on?In the theatrical tactic “breaking the fourth wall”, characters acknowledge the presence of the audience. As when, in the current National Theatre production of Stephen Sondheim’s final musical, Here We Are, the performers, walking forward, stop in shock at seeing a big room full of strangers.The director Jamie Lloyd, though, is pioneering a technique that might be called breaking the theatre wall. In his revival of Evita, previewing at the London Palladium, Rachel Zegler’s Eva Perón sings Don’t Cry For Me Argentina – supposedly delivered from the Casa Rosada presidential balcony in Buenos Aires – from the balcony outside the Palladium, while the audience inside has to settle for a video feed. Continue reading...

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1 week ago Andrew Lloyd Webber is ‘hot again’ –with help from new kids on musicals block

Veteran composer’s work is everywhere, but generation who grew up admiring him say he has never been out of touchWhen Andrew Lloyd Webber walked on stage to collect the Tony award for best musical revival for Sunset Boulevard, it was the first time in 30 years he had been recognised by the American Theatre Wing.The Jamie Lloyd-directed revival was the star of the show at American theatre’s big night last Sunday with its three wins signifying a return to prominence for the veteran composer. Continue reading...

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