The cast of Hadestown celebrate the show’s road to the West End on opening night

WhatsOnStage went way down underground (or over the road from the Lyric Theatre to Sophie’s bar) to chat to the cast of Hadestown on their opening night in the West End.

The critically acclaimed show comes back to the UK after five years. Playing at the Lyric Theatre on Shaftesbury Avenue in London from 10 February 2024, it features music, lyrics, and book by Anaïs Mitchell, a Grammy-winning singer-songwriter, and direction by Tony Award-winner Rachel Chavkin.

The show is a genre-defying new musical that tells two mythic love stories – that of Orpheus and Eurydice, and that of King Hades and his wife Persephone – with both on a journey to the underworld and back. It received a glowing review from critic Sarah Crompton, with the show being praised as “the most exhilarating ride”.

Taking on the role of Hermes is  Melanie La Barrie (& Juliet), who hosted the WhatsOnStage Awards on 11 February, with Persephone played by Gloria Onitiri (Cinderella) and Hades played by Zachary James (Philip Glass’s Akhnaten). 

Playing Orpheus is Dónal Finn (The Wheel of Time), while Eurydice is  portrayed by WhatsOnStage Award winner Grace Hodgett Young, who played Betty in Sunset Boulevardat the Savoy Theatre. The three Fates are Madeline Charlemagne, Allie Daniel and Bella Brown.

Hadestown opened in 2016 at the New York Theatre Workshop before a production in Edmonton, Canada, and its sold-out run at the National Theatre in 2018. The show then premiered at Broadway’s Walter Kerr Theatre, winning eight Tony Awards, including Best Musical. It now holds the record for the highest-grossing musical and longest-running show in the theatre’s 100-year history.