Review: 'Evita Too' by Sh!t Theatre

A Work-In-Pisstake tackling populism, feminism and power

In EVITA TOO, Sh!t Theatre (Rebecca Biscuit and Louise Mothersole) dive headlong into populism, feminism and power as they unpack the life of Isabel Perón, the first female president in history. There are (descriptions of) flying Andrew Lloyd Webber dummies dressed as Evita Perón, a (remote-controlled) helicopter, a (unfulfilled) guest appearance by Elaine Page… it’s this very capacity for imagination which prompts the audience to wonder about the bigger questions, like the misogynistic lens of history and how power itself is a performance.

EVITA TOO is an evolving project combining documentary and musical theatre. Its historical and conceptual foundations are well-researched and cleverly reflected in audience votes at the top of each act: mind maps linking key themes, or nude roller blading to ‘Phantom of the Opera’? History lesson, or brain rot? Popular or populist? As their proposals get wilder, Sh!t Theatre prove they can deliver satire, commentary and a fresh take on history. Biscuit and Mothersole’s personal lives are as much a part of EVITA TOO as the video archives, photographs and research. This commentary on the gendered myth of history – masculine perspectives are objective, feminine ones are confessions – is masterful. The duo chant that the show is ‘EVITA TOO, as in Evita is there, too,’ echoing the projections of Argentinians in the 1970s calling for ‘Perón, Evita, now, Isabelita’ – a reminder of the mirrors held up to compare women to other women.

Through irreverent live songs and costume changes, Biscuit and Mothersole elaborate on how Evita and Isabel are misremembered, or, as they put it, 'mister-remembered.' EVITA TOO unravels the myth-making of female figures who did not get to tell their own story and became reflective surfaces onto which a nation, or an audience, could project its values. ‘A true populist knows… you cannot allow yourself to be upstaged by someone more popular,’ Sh!t Theatre playfully remark. The reminder is salient in today’s attention economy, for fringe and commercial artists alike whose relevance is predicated on an insatiable churn-out of content. 

EVITA TOO is a Work-In-Pisstake deserving of a bigger stage and an ‘Andrew Lloyd Webber-wage.’ I look forward to its further development at the Southbank Centre.

‘EVITA TOO’ was performed on 14 October as part of Croydonites Festival of New Theatre 2025.