A new production of Evita is being ridiculed for its ‘woke‘ trigger warnings about ‘loud music and sudden noises’.
The West End musical centres on Eva Peron, the wife of Argentine President Juan Perónm, whose life begins as a poor girl to a powerful political figure and beloved First Lady.
The show, fronted by Snow White actress Rachel Zegler as Eva, ends with her early death from cancer at age 33 and the show features songs like ‘Don’t Cry for Me Argentina’.
Audiences were alerted to the strobe lighting, flashing lights and haze.
But trigger warnings for shows have been blasted in the past by Sir Ian McKellen, 86, best known for his Gandalf role in ‘The Lord of the Rings’, as reported by The Sun .
He said: ‘I think it’s ludicrous. I like to be surprised by loud noises and outrageous behaviour on stage.’
Theatre fans were previously given 15 trigger warnings for a performance of Phantom of the Opera including that it features depictions of violence and death.
His Majesty’s Theatre released a guide for audiences of the musical, which has been deemed suitable for ages eight and above, telling audience members the timings of the potential triggers.
Members of the public watch Rachel Zegler perform “Don’t Cry For Me Argentina” live on the balcony as she plays Eva Peron in “Evita” at the London Palladium
Crowds filled the streets as Zegler performed on the balcony
Viewers are warned to expect loud sounds, gun shots, flashing lights, haze, fire, pyrotechnics and depictions of violence and death at certain points during the performance.
Toby Young, founder of the Free Speech Union, told The Sun: ‘This is beyond parody. It won’t be long before theatres ask audiences not to applaud at the end in case they trigger people who are sensitive to noise.’
This comes as paying fans were furious after Zegler belted out Don’t Cry for Me Argentina at the London Palladium Theatre on Saturday night attracting hundreds of fans on the street.
But not everyone was impressed with some questioning why they forked out the money when they could have watched it for free.
One person wrote: ‘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?’
Another explained that they ‘go to the theatre to share the same space with a performer’.
It’s not the first time that a project involving Zegler has caused outrage, after the 24-year-old’s star is Disney’s ‘woke’ reboot of Snow White.
The remake of the classic 1937 animated film has a 39% critic approval rating (out of 260 reviews) on Rotten Tomatoes.
Critics have finally weighed in on Marc Webb’s $270M-budget ‘PC’ live-action remake of Disney’s Snow White starring Rachel Zegler (pictured) and Gal Gadot alongside a slew of CGI motion-capture dwarves
Daily Mail’s Brian Viner gave Snow White two out of five stars, calling it a ‘painfully muddle-headed affair’ and ‘pallid reimagining’ but admitted Zegler ‘plainly has oodles of talent’
The film had a £200million budget but made just £148million at the box office as it was criticised for ‘going woke’.
Actors were replaced with CGI dwarves, and the storyline was altered to focus on the princess evolving into a fearless leader, rather than her journey ending in romance.
Zegler commented that the original Disney film was ‘extremely dated when it comes to the ideas of women being in roles of power.’
She added: ‘People are making these jokes about ours being the PC Snow White, where it’s, like, yeah, it is — because it needed that.’
Daily Mail’s Brian Viner gave the film two out of five stars, calling it a ‘painfully muddle-headed affair’ and ‘pallid reimagining’ but admitted Zegler ‘plainly has oodles of talent.’
Meanwhile, The Guardian’s Peter Bradshaw also gave it a one out of five rating and called it a ‘pointless’ and ‘exhaustingly awful reboot’ with ‘tiresome pseudo-progressive additions that tie the whole thing in knots.’
‘Where other movies are playfully reimagining the backstories of famous villains, this one plays it straight, but with carefully curated revisionist tweaks,’ Bradshaw wrote.
‘Those otherwise estimable performers Rachel Zegler and Gal Gadot are now forced to go through the motions, and they give the dullest performances of their lives.’
