The spellbinding West End incarnation of this beloved folk musical was worth the wait
8 / 10
The aesthetics and sound world suggest Depression-era New Orleans, although its exact location and time period are left deliberately vague. Even more so in this superb new British incarnation, in which the cast all use their natural accents. That means we get Dónal Finn’s Irish Orpheus (rooting him in another great folk tradition), Grace Hodgett Young’s grounded, no-nonsense East Midlands-accented Eurydice, and, most strikingly, Melanie La Barrie’s Trinidadian Hermes. In fact, with her dapper silver suit, expressive patois and roof-raising, soulful vocals, La Barrie just about walks off with the show.
