Hadestown at the Lyric Theatre

By Leah Gabriella Cardenas

I saw the award-winning musical Hadestown at the Lyric Theatre on Saturday, July 11th. 

I bought my tickets about five days prior for just £39. There was plenty of availability at a range of prices and views. The show is also running until June 2027.

I arrived right when the doors opened, 45 minutes before showtime. The queue moved fairly quickly and I was inside the theatre within 10 minutes. I immediately got into another queue to purchase a program from the merchandise stand. There were quite a few other merch items from t-shirts to a vinyl of a live recorded performance. 

The Lyric Theatre is located on the busy Shaftesbury Street, near a number of other theaters. Inside, the walls and ceilings are decorated with red velvet, gold accents, and chandeliers. The theatre only seats 938 people so the show felt pretty intimate.

I sat in row F of the Grand Circle section. My seat was in the middle which gave me a great view of the entire stage. However, just a few seats to the left and right of me had extremely obstructed views with poles blocking over half of the stage. It surprised me that the theatre sells those seats at all.

I spoke to the couple sitting next to me who also luckily missed the obstructed view by a few seats. They had not known much about the musical but just wanted to see a West End show and came across Hadestown. I got to give them a little synopsis of the show before it started. 

Hadestown follows the relationship between Hades and Persephone as well as Orpheus and Eurydice. Eurydice voluntarily goes to the underworld because of the harsh weather on the world above that occurs in Persephone’s absence. Orpheus then sets off to get Eurydice back, but Hades won’t let them go that easily. Hermes the messenger god acts as a narrator.

It was first performed in London back in 2018 right before going on Broadway in 2019. Since then, it has won the Tony award for Best Musical and the Grammy award for Best Musical Theater Album. This current West End run started back in February of 2024.

I had never seen the show in full before, but I’ve listened to the soundtrack many times. When it came to the set design, lighting, and costumes though, I truly had no idea what to expect.

The set was almost like a jazz bar which makes sense with the music. The musicians were on both sides of the stage on platforms that created walkways between them and the balcony in the back center. Throughout the show, the worker ensemble would move the tables and chairs around center stage to create new scenes. Then, when Eurydice goes to Hadestown, the sides of the stage where the musicians are moved out, leaving more room in the center and walkways. This also allowed the rotating stage floor in the center to come into greater play. 

The main cast for this day was Marley Fenton as Orpheus, Bethany Antonia as Eurydice, Juan Jackson as Hades, Clive Rowe as Hermes, and Rachel Adedeji as Persephone. Each of their performances were amazing, but Persephone and her voice truly stood out to me. Adedeji also played a great drunk, which was both entertaining and showed part of why Persephone chooses to spend half the year in the underworld. 

During the 20 minute interval, I spoke with a grandmother who came to see the show with her granddaughter. They came about two hours out of London just to see the show. The granddaughter was a huge fan of Hadestown while the grandmother was there to spend time with her. So far, they said their favorite part of the show was the Fates. The Fates act as a conscience, pressuring Eurydice, Orpheus, and even Hades. The granddaughter talked about their harmonies. I also liked the height difference between this cast of the Fates because it made for some dynamic formations and choreography.

Towards the end of the musical, is the recently viral “Wait for Me (Reprise)” which Antonia portrayed Eurydice’s verse more as encouragement than desperation and I liked that. I thought Antonia and Fenton’s characterization of Eurydice and Orpheus, respectively, made the ending even more devastating.

After seeing the full show live, I have come to appreciate the musical even more. The costumes and set made the story come to life. On top of that, this cast was phenomenal and so I raise my cup to them.

Hadestown will be touring the United Kingdom and Ireland in 2027 so if you’re unable to catch them at the Lyric Theatre, check out the tour dates here.