As spring starts rolling round, Greek goddess Persephone emerges from the Underworld to slip straight into London’s West End, where HADESTOWN is the mythical new musical stunning audiences.
Now showing in Lyric Theatre on the iconic Shaftesbury Avenue, Hadestown has been praised by critics and audiences alike; the musical has won 8 Tony Awards, as well as a Grammy, after being enjoyed live by 3 million people, and streamed by over 350 million.
Fran Douglas is a Year 12 student at Newstead Wood School who recently watched the musical as part of a trip with her Classics class. Also studying English Literature and History, Fran has “a deep interest in the past, particularly ancient history, which really drew me to this production.”
The musical itself focuses on two relationships developing parallel to one another: Orpheus and Eurydice are mortal lovers living in poverty on the Earth's surface, while Hades and Persephone are the bickering divine couple living underground, in the god’s subterranean factory, Hadestown.
In a fresh twist on the classic storyline, Eurydice willingly ventures down to the underworld, tempted by Hades’ promise of security and satiation following her penniless marriage to the musician, Orpheus. There, she is met with the arduous reality of working in the factory.
By leaving her husband alone, and still poor, on the surface, Eurydice seems selfish and not truly in love. Fran comments that “At first, their relationship seems highly superficial - they met in a bar, and it was fast-paced ‘love at first sight’, so not the most stable start.”
“But their chemistry increases throughout their journey, the audience starts to recognise their true love for each other,” especially by the last few scenes, where Orpheus manages to strike a bargain with the God of the Dead to ensure his beloved’s safe return to the mortal world.
Powerful themes of betrayal and katabasis are conveyed through moving musical numbers in an ode to Orpheus’ legacy. ‘Wait For Me’ was a favourite of Fran’s, especially the reprise sung in Act II, and all the songs are performed by a live band sitting on stage, which Fran likened to the musical ‘Six’.
The student also stated that the “stage provides an impressive backdrop with three separate levels, including a central platform that descends below the stage floor as if to the Underworld, and two side stages that rotate both clockwise and anti-clockwise!”
Impactful visual effects are incorporated into the performance, featuring a “smoke machine’’ and Hadestown workers “wearing head torches like miners.” As the goddess of growth and fertility, Persephone’s “gorgeous green dress” sets her apart from the workers and creates a contrast between her love for the natural world and her husband’s obsession with the underground factory.
Running for the remainder of this year, Hadestown is a beautifully staged, allegorical and moving production which must be seen to be believed.