Theatre Royal Drury Lane – until March 2026
Reviewed by Ava Clarkson
5*****
Disney’s Hercules the Musical, is inspired by the animation feature film from 1997 based on the ancient Greek God Hercules, the son of Zeus. You cannot walk through London at the moment without seeing an advert for this highly anticipated show. Adverts are everywhere promising us an electrifying new musical.
Having refreshed my memory by watching the cartoon in the afternoon, I arrived at Theatre Royal Drury Lane, the oldest theatre still in use today! “The Lane” as it is fondly called, houses 1981 seats and contains a total of four bars and cafes with a wide range of food and drink options in lavish surroundings. Owned by Sir Andrew Lloyd-Webber, this beautiful venue has recently had a huge refurbishment finishing in 2021. Since then, the theatre has been home to another Disney hit musical triumph Frozen, which completed its 3-year run in September 2024.
The stage is set with sparkling white giant columns, the orchestra conducted by the ever amazingly enthusiastic Daniel Whitby starts the show. The opening number is bright and vibrant and full of energy. We meet “The Muses”, Thalia (Candace Furbert), Clio (Sharlene Hector), Melpomene (Brianna Ogunbawo), Calliope (Malinda Parris), and Terpsichore (Robyn Rose-Li) who are our narrators throughout. They tell us the story of the sons of Zeus – Hercules (Luke Brady) and his evil brother Hades (Stephen Carlile). How as a baby, Hercules is poisoned by his evil twin making him part-God and part-human, in Hades bid to rule Olympus. The first scene stuns in its energy, loud, colourful, characters everywhere, giant stage props which move around the stage seamlessly, costumes glitter and float around in swirls – this feels like a finale… and we have only just begun!
We fall in love with the goofy adult Hercules, with his cheeky smile, clumsiness, and flawless pecks in his fishnet clad torso! As he finds out he is part god, he is determined to return to Olympus. But his evil brother has other ideas. Stephen Carlile is fantastic in the role of Hades. His quick one-liners and facial expressions bring a comedic aspect to his evil character. He looms over the stage and makes us wish for his downfall. We see inside the Underworld, where he holds the beautiful and feisty Meg (Mae Ann Jorolan) who he plans to use in his new quest – to make Hercules human and kill him once and for all. Gigantic puppets arrive on stage, rat like and fear inducing. The puppeteers are outstanding in their craft and should receive a special mention, as they do not feature in the roll call of the cast. Head of Puppets, Jennifer Dingwall, is an outstanding puppet-maker who has worked with large-scale theatrical puppets for stage productions for many years. The monsters in this show and later on set – giant hands, should be commended.
After the interval, we see the well-established Disney storyline come to the fore, a hero rescuing his love interest from the villain. Hercules is helped and trained on his journey by Phil (Trevor Dion Nicholas). As we are told “It’s one thing flexing those pecs, but going from zero to hero requires a different kind of strength” and Phil helps Hercules to achieve this by carrying out a heroic deed using his heart.
The stage show stays largely true to the 1997 film, with a few characters being given a new lease of life – indeed Meg has become more hard-headed in her outlook. She is gutsy and independent and certainly doesn’t need rescuing… but still manages to soften and fall in love with our hero. She keeps Hercules at arm’s length and affectionately calls him “wonder boy”. The film characters of Pain and Panic have been replaced with Bob and Charles (Craig Gallivan and Lee Zarrett) who bring the slapstick humour and “Laurel and Hardy” style comedy to the show.
Featuring music by Alan Menken and lyrics by David Zippel, the much-loved songs from the film including “Go the Distance” and “Zero to Hero” appear in this musical adaptation. The casts voices are all impeccable, however there were times throughout the show when it was hard to understand the words. If you do not know the storyline, this may have become a slight issue during the singing parts of the story.
The dancing, directed and choreographed by Casey Nicholshaw, was spectacular throughout. Tap dancing, acrobatics and large group dances along with numerous costume changes, meant this show is truly a feast for the eyes. Costume Designers Gregg Barnes and Sky Switser have clothed the cast in stunning outfits from head to toe. The costume changes come thick and fast until the finale when everyone is dressed in glittering gold.
I truly enjoyed this show! The colours, sounds, energy and magnificent set design is fitting to the Disney brand. You are transported into the magical world and come out feeling ready to conquer your own heroic deed. A 5-star night out for all the family.