EVITA made a welcome return to the Hippodrome last night, bringing one of the most popular Tim Rice/ Andrew Lloyd Webber collaborations back to the Bristol stage.

And the fans made sure they were out in force to enjoy it.

This musical, which tells of how working class Maria Eva Duarte worked her way up from humble beginnings to become the ‘spiritual leader’ of Argentina is tinged with cynicism, but there is no denying that this show truly captures a nation’s sadness when she died of cancer at the age of just 33.

Although the cast have spent more than a year touring Europe and the UK with this particular production, they were still able to inject a sparkle of Evita magic to their performance. In fact, their experience brought a certain realism to the roles, in particular that of Peron, played by Earl Carpenter, who could not be faulted.

The leading lady last night was Susie Green, as Evita, and although she put in a sterling effort in what is undoubtedly a taxing role, I found her stern portrayal of Evita slightly harsh, particularly in her version of ‘Don’t Cry for me Argentina’; what should be the show-stopping balcony scene didn't give me the goosebumps that perhaps it should have. It is a shame that the audience seemed unable to connect with Susie’s Eva, who certainly brought strength to the character but failed to portray her more vulnerable and caring side.

However, from the very beginning you know that Mark Powell’s Che is going to add an extra dimension to the production, and his comfortable rendition of ‘Oh What a Circus’put the audience at ease early on.

Special mentions must go to Reuben Kaye (Magaldi) and Sasha Ransley as Peron’s Mistress, who certainly stood out for her vocals when she sang 'Another Suitcase in Another Hall'.

The set, lighting and overall production were, as you would expect from a show of this calibre, outstanding, and if you have never seen Evita before then now would be a perfect time to see it.

Evita continues its run at the Bristol Hippodrome until Saturday, July 2.