DUTCH ACTOR AND SINGER JOY WIELKENS TO JOIN THE
WEST END PRODUCTION OF HADESTOWN AS ‘PERSEPHONE’ FOR 7 WEEKS ONLY
NICOLA ROBERTS’ FINAL PERFORMANCE IN THE ROLE WILL BE SUNDAY 18 JANUARY 2026
Dutch actor and singer Joy Wielkens will join the critically acclaimed West End production of Hadestown as Persephone from 20 January until 8 March 2026. She joins the London production having performed the role at the Royal Theatre Carré in Amsterdam earlier this year where the AD hailed “Weilkens blows the audience away with her soulful voice that cuts straight to the Heart.” Other credits in the Netherlands include Beneatha’s Place, Billie!, A Raisin in the Sun, The Mountaintop, and Dear Winnie.
Wielkens takes over the role in London from BRIT Award-winning Girls Aloud star Nicola Roberts whose last performance in the production will be on Sunday 18 January 2026, as previously announced.
Wielkens joins Desmonda Cathabel as Eurydice; Chris Jarman as Hades; Cedric Neal as Hermes; and Dylan Wood as Orpheus.
Melanie Bright, Allie Daniel and Lauran Rae play the Fates; Femi Akinfolarin, Michelle Andrews, Ollie Bingham, Laura Delany and Sebastian Lim-Seet play the Workers, with Lucinda Buckley, Juan Jackson, Oisín Nolan-Power, Lindo Shinda and Jasmine Triadi as Swings.
Hadestown is currently booking until 27 September 2026, at the Lyric Theatre, London. Casting for performances from 10 March 2026, will be announced soon.
Blending American songwriting traditions, from indie folk, to pop, blues, and New Orleans-inspired jazz, Hadestownhas music, lyrics, and book by acclaimed Tony® and Grammy®-winning singer-songwriter and BBC Radio 2 Folk Award-winner Anaïs Mitchell whooriginated Hadestownas anindie theatre project and acclaimed album, before transforming the show into a genre-defying new musical alongside artistic collaborator and Tony® Award-winning director Rachel Chavkin.
Hadestowntakes you on an unforgettable journey to the underworld and back, intertwining two mythic love stories – that of young dreamers Orpheus and Eurydice, and that of King Hades and his wife Persephone. A deeply resonant and defiantly hopeful theatrical experience, Hadestowninvites you to imagine how the world could be.
The Hadestown creative team includes David Neumann (Choreography), Rachel Hauck (Scenic Design), Michael Krass (Costume Design), Bradley King (Lighting Design), Nevin Steinberg and Jessica Paz (Sound Design), Liam Robinson (Music Supervision and Vocal Arrangements), Michael Chorney and Todd Sickafoose (Arrangements and Orchestrations), Ken Cerniglia (Dramaturgy), Maria Crocker (UK Associate Director), and Tarek Merchant (Musical Director & Associate Music Supervisor). Casting by Jacob Sparrow. Additional casting by Rob Kelly.
Hadestownis produced in London by Mara Isaacs, Dale Franzen, Hunter Arnold, Tom Kirdahy and the National Theatre in association with JAS Theatricals.
All biographies for the cast, as well as information on Hadestown and how to buy tickets, can be found at uk.hadestown.com