Hadestown
Rating: ★★★★★
Venue: Lyric Theatre, London

Hadestown follows Eurydice as she makes a desperate decision to work in Hades' hellish factory to escape poverty and the cold winter. Separated from Orpheus, he embarks upon a dangerous quest to bring her back. Their story interweaves with the mythic narratives of Hades and Persephone, while other iconic figures like Hermes and the Fates appear throughout the musical.

For a show based on a Greek Tragedy that is over 2,000 years old the story still rings true in today's world; Gods controlling the world the humans live in, humans trying to fight back against those in power as they hope for a better life and at the centre of it all is love. 

This month we welcomed a new cast to the Underworld and what a cast it is! Our young lovers of Orpheus and Eurydice are played by Nathan Sykes & Fayth Ifil and they are quite the duo; Sykes makes their theatre debut here but their history in bands is evident in their voice. Nathan brings a wonderful power to Orpheus not usually seen. Fayth is a dynamic Eurydice, with a strength and charisma that draws you in from the moment they step on stage.

Malinda Parris as Hermes is a true delight to watch; funny, sincere and commanding in her energy, I could barely take my eyes from her throughout. We have a brand new pairing for Hades and Persephone, our godly couple are now brought to life by Shaun Dooley & Danielle De Niese who both clearly understand their characters inside and out. Danielle is beautifully chaotic as Persephone, there is a deep rage within her when it comes to Hades' behaviour and Danielle shows this incredibly well. Shaun is making his musical theatre debut in the role of Hades and he does a brilliant job of finding the dark yet vulnerable energy within Hades; his characterisation is powerful and demanding, he truly owns the stage. 

My favourite roles in this show are without a doubt, The Fates; they are full of sass and mystical energy. Our three new fates are played by Melanie Bright, Spike Maxwell & Lauran Rae who each shine in their roles as individuals, but also as a group. Hadestown wouldn't be complete without the Workers, the downtrodden of the Underworld - they form the ensemble of the piece (and are one of the hardest working ensembles in my opinion!). Femi Akinfolarin, Lindo Shinda, Gabriela Benedetti, Ollie Bingham and Sebastian Lim-Seet were the group bringing these roles to life and they were quite frankly outstanding! I was blown away by how well they portrayed each role and worked as a group, while also clearly having their own individual talents. 

I make it no secret Hadestown is one of my favourite shows, I think it is theatre perfection and one of the occasions where the book, music, lyrics, design & performance come together perfectly to create absolute magic. I would recommend this show to anyone, but particularly with this current cast who have injected a new exciting energy into the material. 

You can book tickets to Hadestown here.

Review by Rosie

**photo credit: Brinkhoff-Moegenburg**