★★★★½
By Vanessa Huang
Anaïs Mitchell’s stage musical Hadestown takes familiar myths – Orpheus and Eurydice, Hades and Persephone – and melds them into one decidedly anti-capitalist tale. In this story, amidst burgeoning climate crisis and poverty, Eurydice travels to the underworld, only to find herself stuck in a life of degrading labour under the reign of ruthless factory boss Hades. And thus Orpheus follows, on a desperate mission to save her.
Sung-through folksy jazz coupled with intimate staging create an experience that feels as epic as it does personal. So too does Hadestown bring performance at its very best – each cast member delivering with such sheer gusto that the audience cheers and gasps with every beat of a well-known story. In the deepest depths of despair, we hold onto our shared hope and our shared love. We take the old songs – the sad songs – and we sing them anyway.
