Latest news with #HerMajesty'sTheatre
Sydney Morning Herald
11-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Sydney Morning Herald
Robber barons and moonshine: This show about the road to Hades is a hell of a good time
MUSICAL THEATRE Hadestown ★★★★ Her Majesty's Theatre, until July 6 Ancient Greek and Roman myths involving the underworld tend to agree on the ease with which mortals can find the road to hell. In Anais Mitchell's folk-musical Hadestown – a retelling of the legend of Orpheus and Eurydice, draped in a distinctly American mythos and musicality – the road becomes a railway line, and Hades a pinstripe-suited robber baron, whose train ferries denizens of jazz-age speakeasies to 'eternal overtime' in a factory at the end of the line. The other point on which the myths agree is how difficult the underworld is to escape. As Dryden put it in his translation of Virgil's Aeneid: The gates of hell are open night and day; Smooth the descent, and easy is the way: But to return, and view the cheerful skies, In this the task and mighty labour lies. We know that Orpheus will fail, that a fatal glance backward will condemn Eurydice to the underworld forever, but the tragic love story swells with every repetition and Christine Anu's Hermes – glam emcee in this steampunk adaptation – is determined they're going to tell it anyway. If Hadestown is too schematic to provide much emotional depth or tragic catharsis, it is musically superior to most Broadway blockbusters. This production delivers Mitchell's score (which started as a concept album and bloomed into a stage show) with propulsive catchiness and assurance. It's usually billed as a folk-musical, though the range of popular music referenced is much wider than that term suggests. Anu unleashes brassiness for the opening scene-setter, Road to Hell. Adrian Tamburini's Hades has a gravelly, embittered bass with dark country vibes going on – infernal shades of Johnny Cash or Nick Cave or even Tom Waits lurking in the low notes.
The Age
11-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Age
Robber barons and moonshine: This show about the road to Hades is a hell of a good time
MUSICAL THEATRE Hadestown ★★★★ Her Majesty's Theatre, until July 6 Ancient Greek and Roman myths involving the underworld tend to agree on the ease with which mortals can find the road to hell. In Anais Mitchell's folk-musical Hadestown – a retelling of the legend of Orpheus and Eurydice, draped in a distinctly American mythos and musicality – the road becomes a railway line, and Hades a pinstripe-suited robber baron, whose train ferries denizens of jazz-age speakeasies to 'eternal overtime' in a factory at the end of the line. The other point on which the myths agree is how difficult the underworld is to escape. As Dryden put it in his translation of Virgil's Aeneid: The gates of hell are open night and day; Smooth the descent, and easy is the way: But to return, and view the cheerful skies, In this the task and mighty labour lies. We know that Orpheus will fail, that a fatal glance backward will condemn Eurydice to the underworld forever, but the tragic love story swells with every repetition and Christine Anu's Hermes – glam emcee in this steampunk adaptation – is determined they're going to tell it anyway. If Hadestown is too schematic to provide much emotional depth or tragic catharsis, it is musically superior to most Broadway blockbusters. This production delivers Mitchell's score (which started as a concept album and bloomed into a stage show) with propulsive catchiness and assurance. It's usually billed as a folk-musical, though the range of popular music referenced is much wider than that term suggests. Anu unleashes brassiness for the opening scene-setter, Road to Hell. Adrian Tamburini's Hades has a gravelly, embittered bass with dark country vibes going on – infernal shades of Johnny Cash or Nick Cave or even Tom Waits lurking in the low notes.
Time Out
06-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Time Out
Things to do in Melbourne in May
Is it getting hot in here? Come on Melbourne, it's time to head way down, to Hadestown. Seen by 3 million, streamed by more than 350 million and adored by fans all around the world – the acclaimed West End and Broadway musical phenomenon Hadestown will make its Melbourne premiere at Her Majesty's Theatre in May 2025, after having its Australian debut at Theatre Royal Sydney in February. For the uninitiated, the gist is this: written by singer-songwriter Anaïs Mitchell, Hadestown is a genre-defying musical adaption of the ancient Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, set in a dystopian steampunk-esque underworld, set to an evocative score that blends New Orleans-style jazz and blues with modern American folk music – with a live brass band on stage, to boot. The show won eight Tony Awards when it opened in 2019, including Best Musical, and is still playing to packed houses five years later. Hadestown already has a dedicated fandom around the world and here in Australia, and it has an edge that will also appeal to everyone who isn't already a die-hard musical theatre fan. The Melbourne premiere of this sensational musical is presented by Jones Theatrical Group and Opera Australia. Jones Theatrical Group's Susan Jones says Melbourne audiences "embrace musicals like no other city". "In return, musicals delight in performing here due to the rousing receptions and support that they receive. Hadestown will be no exception. Creator and writer Anaïs Mitchell is such an...
BBC News
14-04-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Tommy Cooper's fez gifts to Grimsby boy to be auctioned
Two fezzes owned by comedy legend and magician Tommy Cooper are to be gave them to Tim Dixon, then aged five, after performing at a children's Christmas party in Grimsby in Dixon, now a retired businessman, said: "I was fascinated by the fez and just asked him straight out if I could have it." Cooper then gave him a second hat. Both hats - an iconic feature of Cooper's performances - are due to go under the hammer at John Taylor's Auction Rooms in Louth on Tuesday, with a pre-sale estimate of £200 - £400. Mr Dixon told how he came to be in receipt of two said: "He [Cooper] took it [a fez] off his head and handed it to me. I saw it was a bit sweaty after the performance and I pulled a bit of a face."Noticing the look of disdain, Cooper "went to his props" and retrieved a fresh fez, before handing that over too, recalled Mr Dixon. Cooper was still establishing his career when he entertained a group of children in the canteen of the Peter Dixon Paper Mill in mill, one of the town's biggest employers, was run by Mr Dixon's father, Anthony Dixon. He introduced his young son to Cooper, who then handed the boy the fez hats as a James Laverack said the provenance of the two hats is "rock solid", adding: "They're two wonderful pieces of memorabilia from a quite early stage in Tommy's career. "He went into showbiz in 1947 after leaving the army. In the early 1950s he was working mainly in variety theatres and the London nightspots. The television shows that would make him one of the most famous comics of the 20th century were still some years ahead." Within a few years of the Grimsby show in 1955, Cooper would go on to enjoy huge success. His television shows were watched by millions who loved his comic timing, failed magic tricks and catchphrase "just like that". Cooper died after suffering a heart attack during a live TV broadcast at Her Majesty's Theatre in London in April 1984. He was 63.A fez, believed to be the last one owned by Cooper, sold at auction for £7,000 in Bedfordshire in March, more than twice its estimate. Listen to highlights from Lincolnshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North or tell us about a story you think we should be covering here.
