I’ve been waiting five years for Hadestown to return to London following its run at the National Theatre. With a new cast and reduced in size to fit the West End stage, will it hit the same spot?
One major change is in casting Melanie La Barrie as Hermes. Still the flashy narrator/MC, her performance is watchful, cynical, wistful, careful, and brings a lump to the throat at times. Plus, her voice is incredible.
We’re on the road to Hell, as the opening number tells us. It’s been a long, hard winter because Hades (Zachary James) has broken the agreement to let his wife, Persephone (Gloria Onitiri), who he took away from her mother’s garden into the underworld, return above ground for half of the year.
Orpheus (Dónal Finn) is a young man with a melody in his head, which may bring the spring back. When his sweet singing brings hope in the form of a rose, he woos the hungry and desperate Eurydice (Grace Hodgett Young), who seeks stability and safety.
Surrounded by the band, and with a trio of Fates (Bella Brown, Madeline Charlemagne, Allie Daniel) who often interrupt and viciously drive the action, this sung-through musical is part gig theatre and part epic storytelling.
It has an intimate feel – more so at the National, inevitably – while revelling in the scale of its new home. There are steps and shadows. The lighting by Bradley King echoes the story and draws our attention, with sound design by Nevin Steinberg and Jessica Paz is flawless.
Anaïs Mitchell score is beautiful and dotted through with moments of intensity. My highlight remains “Why We Build The Wall,” in which James’s Hades takes thrilling centre stage with a chorus of voices, including his downtrodden workers and neglected wife.
For Eurydice, an escape from the world above might promise food and shelter. Desperation drives her to make bad decisions. Impatience leads her directly into the flame. It’s a character that is hard to catch.
For Persephone, an angry black spider of resentment, the underworld is anything but, as the passionate love which drew her there has withered away. Above the ground, she passes out drinks and carries flowers. Below, she fumes from the sidelines.
Hadestown, we are told early on, is a sad story, and if you know your mythology, you will know how it plays out. What makes it interesting are the little moments, the choreography, the atmosphere, the ‘reality’ of what is before us.
I found the cast as a whole were impeccable, and Finn’s Orpheus, in particular, stood out with a strong voice and a convincing character, while Hodgett Young’s Eurydice’s “Flowers” captures the heart.
James and Onitiri shine as the rulers of the underworld, forgetting for too long what brought them together yet displaying a shared language of support and strength. They are both “rattlesnakes” in a way.
Hadestown is a triumph of stillness, a romantic fable with a dark heart of money trumping freedom, and a sliver of hope. Rachel Chavkin’s production captures the contradiction beautifully.
Welcome back.
Hadestown is playing at the Lyric Theatre with tickets here.
****
Image credit: Marc Brenner