This is not history this is high end histrionics!
What do I know about Hercules? Not a lot, actually. I’m hoping Disney can fill the gaps in my Greek mythology knowledge, writes Michael Holland.
The big columns on the big set were immediately impressive, as was the big opening number when five funky females rose up through the floor and promised to liven this legend up. This is mythology with money behind it.
Two brothers, Zeus (Goodie) and Hades (Baddie) had fallen out. Hades had been banished to the underworld, while Zeus was up with the Gods on Olympus. When their new baby Hercules was born, Hades saw his inheritance slipping away so had the boy kidnapped and slayed.
However, The Dumb and Dumber kidnappers couldn’t go through with the killing so administered a potion that made Hercules half-human, then abandoned him on Earth to grow up with humans. Alas, as he got older the half-God part of him manifested itself as super-human strength and he was deemed a bit of a clumsy oaf by the townsfolk for unintentionally breaking almost everything he touched.
Life worsened as the neighbours became more hostile; it was time for his mum to explain how she found him abandoned with a gold amulet around his neck, which she gives to her boy and waves him off to find his own way in the world.
This is a real Disney production so any historical facts can be taken with a pinch of fairy dust. I kind of sussed that when Hercules had to track down a personal trainer named Phil to help him get through a series of tests and become a God again. This is a user-friendly Hercules, so there is also a Bob, a Charles and a Meg, who is under the evil spell of Hades.
It is the women who are the driving force behind the men in this version, from Hera delicately guiding Zeus, and Meg outplaying Hades, and the Five Muses who keep us constantly updated with any story twists with music that was high-kicking and toe-tapping and swung with a real swing. They had shoobedooos and shalalalas! This was a Greek Chorus that had soul!
Disney does this stuff with ease. They hire the best for everything so rarely make mistakes when it comes to entertaining the world. Alan Menken and David Zippel created the music, and they have a great pedigree – They can’t have enough mantelpiece space in their homes for all the awards they have garnered over the years. And you can say the same about the writers, Robert Horn and Kwame Kwei-Armah (Former Young Vic Artistic Director). The script whipped along with wisecracks and heartfelt homilies.
The comedy is aimed at all ages, like panto, and they gave the characters pop and pizzazz. The Blind Prophet had some great lines, Meg had sass, but my man was Hades (Don’t we all love a baddie?). Stephen Carlile had a lot of fun with this role, camping it up and eliciting boos in equal measure.
The SFX were fantastic, the outfits to die for. Who thought you could design something that would look good right now in Roman Road and be bang on trend in Ancient Greece?
Hercules is an eye-popping extravaganza. It has everything for everyone. This is not history this is high end histrionics!
Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, Catherine St, London, WC2B 5JF until March 2026.
Booking and full details: https://lwtheatres.co.uk/whats-on/hercules/
