Did Hercules go the distance? The critics weigh in

Was it a titanic success at Theatre Royal Drury Lane?

| London |

25 June 2025

An actor on stage dressed as Hercules, with a Greek temple and columns in the background — Luke Brady in Hercules, © Disney/Matt Crockett

Sarah Crompton, WhatsOnStage
★★★

“It’s a show where it’s perfectly possible to have a good time. Yet something is missing. The wit and warmth that made the 1997 classic rather endearing have been replaced by something much more mechanical and heavy-handed. As we follow Hercules on his quest for god-like status, the entire endeavour feels lacking in heart. The book by Robert Horn (of Shucked fame) and distinguished theatre director Kwame Kwei-Armah is strangely dissonant.”

Sam Marlowe, The Stage
★★★

“Our guides through this cheerful nonsense are five fabulous Motownish muses, who supply sassy glamour and much of the musical fire power. Luke Brady’s likeable Herc brings the right combination of beefcake and boy-next-door innocence and charm to the title role, while Mae Ann Jorolan as Meg, a prisoner in the Underworld with a fiercely feminist outlook and a dim view of masculine heroics, makes an enjoyably feisty, reluctant love interest. Trevor Dion Nicholas adds wholesome ballast as Herc’s personal trainer Phil (short for Philoctetes), Stephen Carlile’s evil Hades snarls, struts and quips in baddie tradition, and members of the supporting cast cavort their way through Nicholaw and Tanisha Scott’s ebullient, twirling choreography in Gregg Barnes and Sky Switser’s cod classical costumes.”

Arifa Akbar, The Guardian
★★★

“Luke Brady is an incredible singer, as Hercules navigates his journey between godliness and humanness with sidekick Phil (Trevor Dion Nicholas). But the title character is rather generic, a Hunkules who is earnest for too long despite shades of Joey from Friends (why not lean in to that?). The cast around Brady is just as strong vocally, but breezy in their dialogue. The animated film’s Hades was a fabulous creation, his head permanently licked by flames from his underworld. Here, Stephen Carlile looks and sounds like a pantomime baddie, complete with corny jokes. You want to boo him every time he delivers his lines.”

Andrzej Lukowski, Time Out
★★★

“It’s all absolutely fine, and accepting it’s not a screechingly ambitious piece of work then perhaps all it really lacks is a big showstopper moment. The songs are solid, but there’s no “Circle of Life”/”A Whole New World”/”Let It Go”-style megabanger. Carlile’s Hades turning into a much bigger puppet version of himself in the final showdown almost does the trick visually, but the scene as a whole is a muddle: it’s unclear where the climactic battle between the gods is happening, or why it happens when it does, and the combat is pretty wishy washy until the afore-mentioned giga-puppet turns up.”

Clive Davis, The Times
★★★

“From where I was sitting in the stalls, to be honest, a fair portion of Zippel’s over-amplified lyrics were so difficult to decipher that they might as well have been written in a classical language. Thankfully, those mighty muses — played this evening by Kimmy Edwards, Kamilla Fernandes, Sharlene Hector, Robyn Rose-Li and Brianna Ogunbawo — can blow the roof off of any temple.”

Nick Curtis, The Standard
★★★

“The show bounces along on a witty set by Dane Laffrey of pirouetting pillars, giant statue fragments and gorgeous backdrops inspired by Gerald Scarfe’s original production design.

“However, Brady’s Hercules is sweet but uncharismatic, his romance with Hades’ bored-seeming servant Meg (Mae Ann Jorolan) low-powered. Alan Menken and David Zippel’s score includes hits from the original film and some new numbers added for the 2019 off Broadway premiere: I enjoyed the Muses’ much-reprised “Gospel Truth”, Hercules’ “Go the Distance”, and Meg’s “Forget About It” in performance, but none lingered in the ear or the mind on the journey home.”

David Benedict, Variety

“The strongest scenes belong to those featuring the dashingly droll antagonist Hades. Vulpine, frock-coated and led by his coiffured mane of white hair, a deliciously enjoyable Stephen Carlile is like Alan Rickman on steroids, with added decibels. Like every actor on the massive Theatre Royal Drury Lane stage, he doesn’t speak, he shouts. Happily, Carlile’s characterization, which picks up where James Woods’ original left off, is strong enough to sustain that level of performance.”

Fiona Mountford, iNews
★★

“The Muses raise the tempo of Casey Nicholaw’s busy but unmemorable production every time they shimmy on in another set of eye-catching outfits, but aside from this it’s a dismal evening. Alan Menken (music) and David Zippel (lyrics) have expanded upon the film’s original score, yet very little sticks apart from “Go the Distance”.”