Back in 2019, I saw the UK premiere of a new musical from New York, written by Anais Mitchell. It was staged at the National Theatre, and the musical was titled Hadestown. I caught it again when it opened in the West End in 2024.
The premise was simple. The story of Orpheus and Eurydice, a classic of Greek mythology, was set in a jazz club in New Orleans, where Hermes was the master of ceremonies. When he introduces the main characters in the opening song “The Road To Hell,” we know we are in for an interesting ride.
This film, which combines pro-shot footage from the Lyric Theatre with close-up shots and backstage preparations, sets the scene by welcoming in the audience and showing the performers getting ready to go on stage. Andre de Shields, Amber Gray, Patrick Page, Reeve Carney and Eva Noblezada were all in that UK premiere, and then took the show to Broadway – and they are back on stage in London for this film capture and release.
Since 2019, a lot has happened – notably Carney and Noblezada started an off-stage relationship and subsequently married in 2025. Andre de Shields turned 80 this year, while Patrick Page plays the role of Hades in this film in a medical walking boot after rupturing his Achilles tendon shortly before. It doesn’t make a difference, and even allows for a bit of showmanship in Act Two where Hades’ mean nature is changed – for a spell.
Page is a menacing bass whose gravelly voice is perfect for the Lord of the Underworld. He’s the gold standard for the role in this musical, and it is very exciting to see that performance immortalised. Opposite him as his wife Persephone is the wonderful, Joplinesque Amber Gray, a lush who masks her disappointment and boredom in the world below with morphine and booze.
Retained from the London cast in 2025 are the Fates – Bella Brown, Madeline Charlemagne, and Allie Daniel – the chorus, conscience, and inevitable downfall within the story. They are marvellous, malevolent presences who the camera captures and loves. With them are the five workers in Hell (Lauren Azania, Tiago Dhondt Bamberger, Ryesha Higgs, Waylon Jacobs and Christopher Short) who offer the physical labour and mechanical comment required in songs like “Why We Build The Wall” and the reprise of “Wait for Me”.
The camera captures moments a stage audience cannot see, such as looking down into a pit or capturing close-up moments upstage. It inevitably forces our attention in particular places rather than allowing the usual ability to cast our eye around the action, but I felt that the film’s director Brett Sullivan made some excellent choices in bringing the three performances which were filmed together.
Andre De Shields makes a dynamic Hermes, with the “sad song” we “will sing again and again and again”. He’s the narrator, the railway guard, the messenger, the guardian, the voice of reason, and more. At the opposite end of the spectrum from Gray’s Persephone, who just longs for love and a few months in the sun, he knows the score, and knows the ending.
The sound on this film is not the sound you would hear watching the show on stage – it is too crisp and clear – but as a record of what Hadestown is and can be at its very best, I can’t recommend it highly enough.
Carney and Noblezada have now moved on considerably in their careers, but in returning to the roles of the couple whose relationship is perhaps doomed from the start, they bring a sense of melody and maturity. Their quick attraction and descent into catastrophe may make us think of Romeo and Juliet, but their devotion quickly becomes central to how we view the story.
And do stick around after the bows for “We Raise Our Cups”, in which Persephone toasts the audience. It might just break your heart.
Hadestown: The Musical is currently on a limited release in UK cinemas.
Hadestown continues in the West End with a new cast recently welcomed into the leading roles. It is booking until 17 Dec 2027.