Music: Alan Menken
Lyrics: David Zippel
Book: Robert Horn and Kwame Kwei-Armah
Director: Casey Nicholaw
Disney’s 1997 animated classic Hercules was a disappointment at the box office on its first release. Coming after the much more serious Pocahontas and The Hunchback of Notre Dame, the movie’s irreverent take on Greek myth maybe seemed a little too juvenile in comparison.
Still, at the time, its use of anarchic humour and anachronistic elements helped turn what could have been a straightforward, if sanitised, version of a god-turned-mortal trying to find a way to restore his godhood into a commentary on the nature of celebrity. There isn’t much changed in the stage version of that story, which somewhat neutralises that element of satire from sharp and prescient to quaintly funny.
From the off, it’s clear that anybody with even a passing familiarity with the movie will be reassured. A vision of Mount Olympus, accompanied by a po-faced musical prologue, is interrupted by the entrance of the Muses, a quintet of gospel-singing narrators who help transition the show into its more comedic take.
That comedy is provided in a book by Robert Horn and Kwame Kwei-Armah, which, at times, shows similarities with Horn’s gag-filled book for Shucked, which also visited London earlier this year. Coupled with over-the-top performances, especially from Stephen Carlile’s Hades, the effect is very much of a pantomime, albeit a high-class one with a budget to match.
Not that the budget stretches to non-human characters. Hades’ incompetent sidekicks Pain and Panic, abstract little demons inspired by Gerald Scarfe designs, are replaced by comedy sidekicks Bob and Charles (Craig Gallivan and Lee Garrett), while Hercules’ trainer Philoctetes (“Phil”) loses his satyr form here, with Trevor Dion Nicholas becoming much more of a traditional human coach, complete with track suit and trainers.
Such decisions lead to a sense of underwhelm that is, initially at least, mirrored in Luke Brady’s Hercules. His big entrance as an adult, a scene where his strength and clumsiness combine to wreck the local marketplace, is hampered by some dodgy set mechanics, the movie’s domino-like falling pillars replaced by a few urns that dislodge without anyone touching them.
Brady himself seems initially un-Herculean, but soon grows into the role – and not just because of a quick costume change in the middle of Act I into a see-through tunic that emphasises his musculature. While the actor may not have the presence to completely dominate any of his scenes, he successfully conveys the movie’s vision of Hercules as a simple yet kind person who will always strive to do what is right.
Mae Ann Jorolan has much more fun as the morally ambiguous Meg, also working for Hades but in more of a freelance capacity. Her world weary cynicism an
d refusal to accept the traditional role of damsel in distress remain as refreshing in 2025 as they did in 1997, culminating with a barnstorming rendition of I Won’t Say (I’m In Love), one of Alan Menken and David Zippel’s brilliant songs for the movie that have successfully transitioned to the stage.
Indeed, so strong are the numbers from the film that Menken and Zippel’s new numbers really don’t seem to be in the same league. Rather than elevating the work, they somewhat diminish it, never quite conveying the same sense of majesty that the classic numbers (notably the omnipresent Gospel Truth and Go the Distance) accomplish.
And that’s really the case throughout. There are some impressive visuals (Hades’ vortex of lost souls being especially cleverly implemented) and fun performances, but there’s also choreography (by director Casey Nicholaw) that feels so hokey and cheesy that it accentuates the similarities between this eyes-and-teeth Americanised production and a good old British panto.
That’s not necessarily a negative – nothing beats a good panto done well – but for a show of this scale and budget, one would hope for more elements that elevate, rather than merely repeat, the source material. While it’s not without its fun moments, rather more amusement and entertainment could be achieved by staying home and watching the animated classic on Disney+. This production of Hercules may not be a complete zero, but it’s far from the hero of the West End that it could have been.
Booking until 28 March 2026
