Chilling megalomania

Press, 10 May 1979, Page 4

Chilling megalomania

By Howard McNaughton

“Eva Peron,” by Argentin Copi. Directed by Craig .Newport for the University of Canterbury Drama Society. Shelley Common Room, May 8,9; Dux de Lux Restaurant, May 10. Running time: 50 minutes.

Opened in Paris a decade ago, this play quickly developed a notoriety for its language deployment —- much of its dialogue consists of the sort of domestic chatter that one assumes must be quite normal in the boudoirs of cancerous Argentinian po-

At a deeper level.

the play is genuinely shocking in the hopeless collapse of values that it depicts, and in the nightmarish projections of the cadavarous megalomaniac at its centre. This production is severely limited in terms of design resources, so that the play’s stylisation scarcely comes across, and its content thus seems much more realistic than was intended. The part of Eva, for example, was originally created by a female impersonator, developing a car-toon-like grotesque rie which is only vestigial in this production.

In terms of acting, though, the production is an unquestionable success, with a remarkable degree of concen-

tration and attack in every performance. Ann Leonard and Robyn Nicholas combine excellently as Evita and her mother, Garry Beveridge’s performance is very well conceived, building up to a final, distorted, speech to the nation, and Robert Langton (Evita’s brother) is a strategic presence throughout, fulfilling a subtly-devel-oped characterisation when he murders Evita’s nurse (Elizabeth Ross). Craig Newport’s direction is sound and intelligent, and, considering the adversity of presentation conditions, the intensity of the atmosphere must be regarded as a triumph — well worth polishing up for extra performances after the Students’ Arts Festival.