Hadestown opened in London in February after playing successfully (and still is) to Broadway audiences since 2019. The show started out as a concept album by Anais Mitchell and went through many theatrical iterations until it became the beloved show we know today. This London production is moving, tragic, and stunning.
The Plot
The plot of Hadestown is based on the greek myths of Orpheus and Eurydice, and that of King Hades and his wife Persephone. Eurydice, a young girl looking for food, goes to work in an industrial version of the Greek underworld to escape poverty and the cold and her lover Orpheus must make the journey down to rescue her.
Road To Hell
The set design is simple, but far from uninteresting or ineffective. The band are situated on either side, with the drummer in the middle and create a unique atmosphere; almost like a combination of a jazz/folk gig and a musical. They are on top form the whole night and match the energy of the cast. Everyone clearly has a love for the material and it shows. Opener Road To Hell introduces the characters, band, and chorus and gives them all a round of applause before the story begins, while Our Lady of The Underground (Act 2 opener) pays tribute to each member of the band. It’s rare that big Broadway/West End musical performances have such an intimate community feeling but in Hadestown its everywhere.
The design does leave a lot to the imagination and the stage remains mostly the same throughout the entire performance but this worked in it’s favour and created the folksy, concert-like vibe. However, when the stage opens up in a flourish of light during Wait For Me to transition to the Underworld, it’s jaw-dropping. For that moment alone, the production team deserves all the applause it can get. It really is one of those musical theatre moments which must be seen, up there with Defying Gravity in Wicked or the DeLorean flying in Back To The Future: The Musical.
Way Down Hadestown
The trumpet player get’s a solo mid-song during Way Down Hadestown and many cast members are multi-faceted such as Donal Finn, who plays lead Orpheus. Not only can this man sing, hitting both deep notes and heavenly falsetto, dance and act but he can also play the guitar. His performance, especially during his big number Wait For Me was captivating. Other highlights included Gloria Onitiri as Persephone who had such crazy energy, Allie Daniel, one of the Fates, with her enchanting vocal range, and Melanie La Barrie (Hermes) who acts as the narrator, leading the audience down this Road To Hell.
A musical wouldn’t be worth seeing without an interesting soundtrack and what Mitchell has done with this piece is nothing short of extraordinary. Combining elements of New Orleans Jazz, American folk music and traditional Broadway, the soundtrack is catchy, complex and most of all complete. The story flows with ease and is understandable to those unfamiliar with Greek Mythology. There are also many motifs which add characterisation and a thorough-line to the themes being communicated. Livin It Up On Top and Way Down Hadestown are such energetic full-ensemble numbers and songs like Epic III are hauntingly beautiful pieces. Hadestown touches on themes of love, death and capitalism – Hades is reimagined as an industrial hellscape full of false promises and regret and the romance between Hades and Persephone mirrors that of Orpheus and Eurydice. It’s a soundtrack just as worth listening to at home as in the theatre.
Hadestown is a theatrical masterpiece that continues to captivate audiences.
Book tickets for Hadestown (London) here, now booking until Sunday 9 Febuary 2025.
Featured Image Credit: Nimax Theatres
He/Him
Arts Editor 24/25
Press email: arts@brignews.com
