Teen edition. Scotch College. Thebarton Theatre. 6 Aug 2026
The Broadway production of Hadestown was named Best Musical in 2019; still playing to sellout audiences in New York and on the West End stage, it also picked up eight Tony Awards. This is the ‘Teen Edition’ which is a little shorter and edited for a younger age group.
This is a musical with a difference. Based on Anais Mitchell’s 2010 concept album, Hadestown eschews the spoken word in favour of song, and while at times it can feel a little relentless, it works.
The Greek gods certainly had a right old time – when they weren’t flying around on golden chariots, they were swallowing spouses, giving birth to winged horses and chaining people to rocks while eagles ate their liver.
This story is a bit simpler and a whole lot nicer, though still with a tragic ending. Narrated by Hermes (William Jarvis), this is the age-old story of Orpheus (Sebastian Cox) and Eurydice (Sienna Turner), Hades (Tom Wetherall) and Persephone (Eleanor Driver), of love lost and won. Eurydice has been taken to the Underworld by Hades and Orpheus must rescue her. Hades wife Persephone is all for the lovers being reunited, and as she can move between the two worlds, becomes a prime mover in getting Hades to let her go.
David Lampard’s set is of two stations, above and below the earth, with the allusion informed by the rollicking and soulful Road to Hell, which sets the tone for this contemporary revisiting of the ancient tale.
Accompanied by the Hadestown Orchestra (conductor Martin Cheney) this production showcases some quite remarkable young singers under the direction of Stephanie Thompson who, along with Carla Laurendi, choreographs superbly what could have been an unwieldy troupe of performers.
The three Fates (Evie Dolling, Ashleigh Sykes, and Charlotte Venning) are almost Andrews Sister-esque in their performance, with their tight harmonies and sassy moves. And sassy personifies Persephone (in dazzling emerald green) as she romps through the drinking song Living It Up on Top, before going on down to the Underworld where she joins her husband Hades, who presides over what appears to be a mining community, a subterranean nightmare with the inhabitants toiling for Hades.
The stage is always slightly dark, as the characters try and push through to the light via miners’ headlamps or handheld lanterns. It’s highly evocative and adds to the mystery of the Underworld.
The chorus/ensemble doesn’t shy away from the big moves - a highlight of their performance is Why We Build the Wall with Hades, a moving and telling comment on contemporary society as much as it is a defence of the Underworld.
The cast were apparently workshopping and rehearsing this show for about six months, and it shows in the very professional stagework and timing of both principals and ensemble cast. With a budget that many companies would crawl over broken glass for, this is a very high-end production and one that many of these students will look back on with wonderment, that this level of theatre was available to them. It’s also a real treat for audiences; this cast is top notch – Sebastian Cox as Orpheus is just stunning – and is of a calibre one more often finds in adult professional theatre.
It should be noted that there are two principal casts; this review is of Cast One, although Sebastian Cox plays through the season.
Arna Eyers-White
Where: Thebarton Theatre
When: 6 to 9 Aug
Bookings: ticketmaster.com.au
