Hit show Hadestown to visit Sunderland Empire

Producers of the Tony and Grammy Award-winning Best Musical Hadestown, currently playing its third smash-hit year in London’s West End, today announce the first-ever UK & Ireland tour beginning February 2027, including Sunderland Empire playing from Tuesday 9 – Saturday 13 November 2027. Casting and full creative team to be announced.

Blending American songwriting traditions, from indie folk, to pop, blues, and New Orleans-inspired jazz, Hadestown has music, lyrics, and book by acclaimed Tony and Grammy-winning singer-songwriter and BBC Radio 2 Folk Award-winner Anaïs Mitchell who originated Hadestown as an indie theatre project and acclaimed album, before transforming the show into a genre-defying new musical alongside artistic collaborator and Tony Award-winning director Rachel Chavkin.

Mara Isaacs (Producer), said: “We are thrilled to bring Hadestown to audiences across the UK and Ireland. This is a show that has moved and captivated audiences in London and around the world - and for good reason. Anaïs Mitchell’s extraordinary score, combined with a story about love and hope in the face of impossible odds, creates an evening in the theatre unlike any other. Once you’ve heard it, you won’t be able to get it out of your head. UK and Ireland - wait for us. We’re coming.”

Anaïs Mitchell (Music, Lyrics & Book), said: “I’m thrilled that Hadestown will be touring across the UK and Ireland! Our West End casts have taught us that these songs sound right at home in every lilt and brogue… we are thrilled to bring this story and music to folks all over and see what new resonances will be found.”

Hadestown takes you on an unforgettable journey to the underworld and back, intertwining two mythic love stories – that of young dreamers Orpheus and Eurydice, and that of King Hades and his wife Persephone.  A deeply resonant and defiantly hopeful theatrical experience, Hadestown invites you to imagine how the world could be.

Hadestown is the winner of 8 Tony Awards on Broadway including ‘Best Musical’ and a Grammy Award for ‘Best Musical Theatre Album.’ The Original Broadway Cast Recording has become one of the most streamed cast albums of all time with nearly one billion streams to date and has recently been certified Gold by The Recording Industry Association of America. 

The critically acclaimed West End run continues at London’s Lyric Theatre, more than eight years after its sold-out engagement at the National Theatre in 2018. 

Anaïs Mitchell | Music, Lyrics & Book

Anaïs is a singer-songwriter whose recordings include the original studio album of Hadestown (2010, featuring Justin Vernon and Ani Difranco) and Young Man in America (2012). Reinterpretations of traditional music include Child Ballads (2013, with Jefferson Hamer) and Bonny Light Horseman (2019, as Bonny Light Horseman). She has headlined worldwide and supported tours for Bon Iver, Josh Ritter and Punch Brothers. Awards include BBC Radio 2 Folk Award and Folk Alliance International Spirit of Folk Award. Year-end best lists: NPR, Wall Street Journal, MOJO, Uncut, Guardian, Sunday Times, Observer. Hadestown is Anaïs’s first musical.

Rachel Chavkin | Director

Rachel is a director, writer and artistic director of the TEAM. Hadestown (NYTW, National Theatre, London) has been one of her greatest joys. Tony and Lortel nominations and Drama Desk Award for Dave Malloy’s Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812 (Broadway, Ars Nova, A.R.T.). London: Mission Drift (National Theatre), American Clock (Old Vic). Select New York and regional: Marco Ramirez’s The Royale (LCT; Obie Award, Drama Desk and Lortel noms.), Malloy’s Preludes (LCT3), Bess Wohl’s Small Mouth Sounds (Ars Nova and national tour), Carson Kreitzer and Matt Gould’s Lempicka (Williamstown Theatre Festival), The Royal Family (Guthrie Theatre) and multiple collaborations with Taylor Mac. Her first film, Remind Me, was an official selection of the Venice and Beverly Hills Film Festivals. 2017 Smithsonian Award for Ingenuity. Upcoming: Wohl’s Continuity (MTC), Malloy’s Moby Dick (A.R.T.). Proud NYTW Usual Suspect and Member SDC.

Hadestown UK & Ireland tour is produced by Mara Isaacs, Dale Franzen, Hunter Arnold, and Tom Kirdahy.