The musical, inspired by the animated film, based on the ancient myth.
It's what classical civilisation would have wanted.
Ancient Greece. A time of gods, mortals… and Hercules, who isn't quite either. But if he's not a god, how can he possibly save the world from Hades? It's one thing flexing those pecs, but going from zero to hero requires a different kind of strength.
Get ready for a wise-cracking, column-shaking, underworld-rocking ride of adventure, self-discovery and love. In tunics.
Directed and choreographed by Casey Nicholaw, with music by Alan Menken, lyrics by David Zippel, a brand-new book by Robert Horn and Kwame Kwei-Armah, and co-choreography by Tanisha Scott, Hercules delivers a thrilling night out at London’s Theatre Royal Drury Lane that leaves you ready to conquer anything.
How could a show about such an outsize hero as Hercules be so lame? That’s the question hovering over a Disney-backed musical that arrived at the Theater Royal, Drury Lane, in London on Tuesday, just nine months after the playhouse waved goodbye to “Frozen,” another screen-to-stage cull from the Disney catalog.
There is a briskness to its drama, under the direction of Casey Nicholaw, and a pounding out of the material – Songs! Lights! Action! – that makes it seem like a conveyor-belt musical. The characters are not so much divine as 2D, although the sound and optics are always eye-popping, the swivelling set designs intent on moving heaven and earth. Gregg Barnes and Sky Switser’s costumes are heavenly, too, and camp as hell: gold dresses, white Spanx and Hercules in a mesh vest and miniskirt-style toga by the end.
| 2025 | West End |
West End |
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