Days out with kids London: Hercules the Musical

Following on from Frozen the musical was always going to be a tough gig, and Disney’s Hercules has had some mixed reviews. It may not have songs that become chart toppers or even earworms but it’s good fun, especially for kids, and my eight year old daughter really enjoyed it.

I remember watching the 1997 Disney film version of Hercules at the cinema in German, with the eight year old boy who was my charge as an au pair. It didn’t leave me as impressed as some Disney films and I think this is part of the problem the musical faces – it’s not an iconic Disney film in the first place.

The storyline itself is great – I was always a big fan of Greek myths even as a child and I think it’s really useful for young people to be exposed to the stories and legends. It’s almost part of a classical education to know the characters and stories of the likes of Zeus, Hades, Hercules and so on.

But the way the story is told on stage is a bit of a mish-mash. Hades is something of a pantomime villain (albeit very good), Meg’s drawl and sardonic comments reminded me somehow of Vanessa Williams in the Devil Wears Prada, and Hercules is a bit cheesy. The muses who form a literal Greek chorus pop up every now and then in increasingly elaborate outfits, helping narrate the story via some impressive gospel style vocals.

The plot is easy to follow, it’s funny, there are some good special effects and an exciting fight with a hydra – and my daughter really enjoyed the show. She did acknowledge it wasn’t as good as Matilda but that particular musical sets the bar for children’s West End shows very high.

The show is on at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane and in the lobby you can view some of the costumes from the production, and upstairs there are original drawings from the 1997 Disney film by Gerald Scarfe which we enjoyed looking at during the interval.

Hercules ends its West End run on 5 September this year (2026) and if you have children who like musicals it’s definitely worth watching – but I don’t think it will go down in our memories as one of the best we have seen. For my daughter that accolade belongs firmly to Matilda!