Hades

Sam Booth as Hades

### Seen In

The Crate Room, The Elysium Hotel, The Square, Hade's Office, The Palladium, The Stone Table, The Shower Room, PEEP Bar, The Tenement Area, The White Cypress (Sake Bar), Askalaphos' Florist, Ciacco (The Cafe), The Crossed Girders, Troy, Mycenae

### Seen With

Askalaphos, Persephone, The Oracle, Artemis, Iphigenia, Clytemnestra, Aegisthus, Peep Cabaret, Zagreus, Neoptolemus, Polymestor, Kampe, Macaria, Laocoön, Eurydice, Hecuba, Polydorus, Agamemnon, Patroclus

## Relationship Information

### Family

Husband to Persephone, Potential Father to Zagreus, Macaria & Iphigenia (when resurrected as Hecate)

## Cast

### Played By

Ali Goldsmith, Carl Harrison, Eric Jackson Bradley, Folu Odimayo, Sam Booth

Hades is the King of the Underworld, and husband to Persephone.

His story arc revolves around restoring order to the City, overseeing all the events that unfold around him, and along the way, informing the audience of his nuanced perspective within this particular line of work. He is also troubled throughout the show with the fear that Persephone is not pleased with him, and is tasked with assisting her in regaining her memories.

He is one of only two characters in the show who have a single loop, as opposed to three consecutive loops.

## Loop

After completing the museum tour introductions, he makes his way to the The Crate Room, where he places a gold coin in the mouth of the dead horse, found in one of the larger crates, before making his way to Troy. He briefly surveys Hesperides' Florist, before finding Askalaphos in the Greenhouse Room of The Elysium Hotel, where he hands him a crumpled up Permit Pass, wrapped around a small metal horse figure; he tells him he will "know what to do", and that "she'll be here soon", before leaving. \*

He enters The Square, during Polyxena's sacrifice in Loop 1, quietly watching the scene amongst the crowds of WMs and sprinkling sand across the floor, before entering Hades' Office and locking the door behind him. \*\*

Hades re-emerges shortly before the end of Loop 1, lip-syncing along to Frank Sinatra's 'It's a Lonesome Old Town'. He takes a bunch of daffodils from one of the flower carts, and leaves a trail of them, leading from the Well, up to the door of his office, before shutting himself back inside. He re-sets the vinyl record, and clutching a single daffodil, begins rapidly pacing in ever-decreasing circles, across the office floor, before announcing "She's coming! She's here!".

Upon emerging from the well, Persephone knocks at the office door and is awkwardly comforted by Hades, with him showing her their wedding photograph to jog her memory. He reassures her that she will remember everything in time, and gives her a set of keys, before telling her "I can help you, but I can't guide you.", and promptly leaving.

He then makes his way through to Mycenae, through The Palladium, along the way reassuring the following WM's that "She'll be okay. She always is.". Upon his arrival, he passes The Shower Room and watches as The Oracle experiences a vision of Iphigenia's sacrifice - as she does so, he produces a ring from the shower window, and hands it to her. Then he goes to stand atop the large staircase, to watch from a distance, as Iphigenia and Clytemnestra complete the bear ritual in The Woods, before warmly greeting Artemis on The Stone Table. As Iphigenia's wedding party breaks out, Hades heads across and joins in the celebration, dancing, drinking and congratulating the family.

Swiftly returning to Troy, he makes his way towards PEEP, asking the WMs "Do women like surprises? (Yes.) You better be right.". Once inside, he is introduced to the stage by the PEEP Cabaret Hosts, and proceeds to serenade Persephone (who sits in the front row) with 'If I Didn't Have Your Love'.

He ushers a still-flustered Persephone out into The Square, but she becomes frightened by the sound of the impending Mycenean invasion. She is bumped into by a panicked Zagreus, whom Hades warns to "look where (he's) going". He sweeps her away into his office, locks the door, shuts the curtains and places a pair of headphones over her ears, and plays a guided meditation tape to calm her panic attack. As she listens to the meditation, Hades hands her a toy pomegranate, and proceeds to set up a draughts board; as she cowers behind his desk, he sits and waits, helplessly. When Persephone regains composure, she realises she has unwittingly transformed the fake pomegranate into a real one. \*\*\*

Persephone leaves Hades sitting at his desk, wherein he proceeds to remove a single seed from the pomegranate, with a pair of tweezers, before desperately flirting with the idea of eating it. He eventually composes himself and resides not to. He tells the WMs that "they haven't had one like this in six months.", before turning their attention to the sacrifice of Polyxena, that is happening outside the office window, and remarking that "It's not the real thing, but it's almost more real.".

Next making his way through to The Elysium Hotel, he briefly notifies Askalaphos that he intends to stop by to see him again soon, before heading towards Hecuba's Bedroom to sprinkle sand over Polyxena's body, laid out on the counter of Alighieri's - he acknowledges Neoptolemus as he enters the room, clearly disapproving of his part in the sacrifice. Leaving the bedroom, he observes Polymestor murdering Polydorus in the Troy backstreets, who responds by yelling at him to go away.

He stumbles upon Kampe, in The Tenement Area, and sits opposite them on the benches, resting his head against theirs, as he directs their attention to the bright light shining down on them from above, before promptly leaving them to gaze and marvel alone. Next, he passes through Room IIIIIII, where he finds Macaria mourning; he places a hand over her face, soothing her pain, before checking her heartbeat and comparing it to his. Travelling back into the Troy backstreets, he spies Persephone interacting with Laocoön.

Hades then heads towards The White Cypress, where he drinks and shares a quiet conversation with Zagreus, about enjoying life, before handing him the note left for him by Eurydice. He then enters Hesperides', where he collects a flower for Persephone, from Askalaphos. On returning to The Square, he beckons a resurrected Polyxena off of the counter, before returning to his office, where he is met by Persephone; he puts on a record and the two begin to dance, eventually tangoing their way out into The Square.

After their dance, they return to the office, wherein he hands her the flower (but not without reminding her that it's fake), and the two share a passionate embrace, before Persephone confesses that she has to go. As she leaves, he locks the door behind her and talks to the WMs about the cycles of life, and the overwhelming nature of life in the City. He turns the WMs attention to his record player and the vinyl currently playing; he hands the sleeve to a WM, revealing that both the name of the album ('Les Troyens') and the track-listing indicate the events in the City are entirely determined by his playing of this record, thus also explaining the looping nature of the characters actions. He asks the WMs if he should play it again, to which he resets the record, cueing the reset music for Loop 3. As the music begins to play, he sits by the office window watching the other characters resetting and confesses to the WMs that "(he) truly loves them all.", before unlocking the office and going back out into The Square.

Pulling up a chair, he orders a cup of whiskey from Eurydice, and sits at the table outside Ciacco's onlooking (through his opera glasses), as Hecuba, Polymestor, Polyxena, Polydorus and Macaria gather to celebrate Polyxena's birthday. Throughout he quietly remarks to the surrounding WMs about the quality of the light in the City, before describing the incoming Mycenean invasion, noting that "you'd never know (it)". He resides that he "must show (his) face" at the party, before joining in the celebration with the Trojans. He returns his cup to Eurydice, thanking her and informing her that should she ever need anything, that she knows where he is, before heading back to his office. He sits by the draughts board and confesses to the WMs his feelings of emptiness when Persephone is gone (describing everything as feeling like a "stage set"), and how he copes in his loneliness by distracting himself with the observation of the City's minutiae.

He returns to Mycenae and watches as Agamemnon deliberates over sacrificing Iphigenia; he begins toying with him, before seemingly supporting him through it, or at the very least excepting that it is nonetheless unavoidable. \*\*\*\* As Iphigenia descends the staircase, wearing her wedding veil, Hades climbs one of The Crossed Girders and intently observes the sacrifice through his opera glasses; he then attempts to comfort Agamemnon, as he is blown back to Troy by the summoning winds, brushing Iphigenia's hand as he passes.

Back in Troy, he returns to his office to find Persephone calmly closing the curtains, as the invasion occurs outside, once again. Hades locks the office door and joins his wife in a silent game of draughts. Persephone suddenly becomes enraged and lets out an almighty silent scream, that sends him rolling onto the floor. She goes to hold him, but he is seemingly turned to stone. Eventually, after desperately trying to make him move, she force-feeds him a pomegranate until he is reinvigorated, and demands he "show her everything", to which he obliges. He leads Persephone out towards the 'Stage Door', giving her a pair of keys to unlock it, before returning to The Square to watch her from The Palladium balcony - he is then greeted by Iphigenia (now resurrected as Hecate), and watches on as she seduces Patroclus, in the window of Ciacco's. He passes back through The Tenement Area, creeping under the staircase to watch the resurrection of Polydorus (briefly brushing his hand as he leaves him), before returning to his office.

Back at his office he speaks to the WMs briefly about the functionality of the City (describing it as being like a machine), before Eurydice begins desperate banging on the office windows, terrified. He lets her in to comfort her, and proceeds to produce a cloth, with which he soaks up her tears, before leaving her to return to The White Cypress. He sits and speaks to Zagreus of the passing of time and the meaning of life, remarking that although his (Zagreus') life is contained to a mere hour, and he is doomed to repeat it endlessly, he should view it as a blessing nonetheless. He urges him not to waste his life and instead "Seize the night!", before promptly leaving him.

Returning to Ciacco's, he has Eurydice pour whiskey into his cupped hands, and drops it on the floor of The Square, smearing it across the paving stones - he notices a few spots of blood from the sacrifice, and mops it up with his cloth. As he stands, he cues the Troy Finale music, backing away with outreached arms. He slinks away into the shadows of the Troy backstreets and unlocks the door behind his office and lets several WMs through.

Inside Hades' Record Room is a large plinth with a record player, a red armchair, and several shelves of vinyls. After a short while, he will then unlock a second door leading the WMs back through to his main office, where Persephone is listening to her guided meditation tape again. \*\*\* Hades joins her, as the pair pull back the rug on the floor, and lift up the floorboards, revealing many vials nestled in sand. Hades divulges that these vials contain the tears of the inhabitants of the City. He thanks Persephone for coming back to him, and the pair share a brief passionate embrace on his desk, before he asks her if she's ready. \*\*\*\*\*\*

With Persephone by his side, Hades heads towards Mycenae, in time for the Mycenae Finale, wherein he walks along The Stone Table, briefly acknowledging Clytemnestra and greeting Iphigenia, as Persephone ascends the large staircase and the two walk the length of the table together. Finally, the pair stand atop the balcony to share a pomegranate.

\* This initial Askalaphos interaction was only added in late 2022. \*\* During previews, before the inclusion of the 1:1s, Hades would spend this first stretch of time in his office alone, sat at his desk, with a pair of headphones on (presumably listening to Persephone's meditation tapes). \*\*\* Depending on the performer, this is where the first Persephone 1:1 occurs. If it happens, Hades will unlock his office cabinet to reveal a crawlspace, through which Persephone will disappear, and urge three people through, before locking up the cabinet again. \*\*\*\* Depending on the performer, this interaction with Agamemnon has been played as both comforting and teasing; some are more directly involved (physically pushing him up/down the Crossed Girder structure), while others simply observe from a distance. \*\*\*\*\* The speech used in this scene seems to regularly change, and may be somewhat improvised each time. He has sometimes shown an acknowledgment of the music blasting from the blinding in The Square, outside, and said some variation of "Should we put on something different, or should we just enjoy the silence for now?". \*\*\*\*\*\* Depending on the performer, sometimes as he withdraws from kissing Persephone, he catches a glimpse of 'The Fall of the Damned' painting behind his desk and lets out a bloodcurdling scream, before the pair fall about chuckling.

## Lonely Hades Loop

*In the event of an absence of Persephone (due to cast shortages), Hades will instead perform what is known as a 'Lonely Hades Show'.*

H

## 1:1s

Hades has three '1:1' scenes, including a walk-out, but additionally has three scenes for a limited audience, in his office, wherein he will lock the door after a fair amount of WMs are inside.

The core limited audience scenes occur:

1. During Persephone's panic attack, following the second Troy invasion
2. During the silent draughts game, following the third Troy invasion
3. In his Record Room, at the start of the Troy Finale

After observing Polyxena's sacrifice, in Loop One, he will hold open the door to his office and allow one WM inside. After locking the door, he stands and stares at the WM for an extended period of time before gesturing for them to sit in one of his office chairs, and stating that he hopes they're enjoying their visit. He turns his attention to the office window, and comments of the sacrificed Polyxena, stating that "it's not the real thing". Drawing the WM over to his vinyl player, he goes on to demonstrate the power he holds over the city by dropping his finger onto the middle of the record, cueing a widespread record-stop for all of the action across both Troy and Mycenae, momentarily freezing them all in time, before releasing his finger and return them to normal again. Retiring to the office chairs, Hades sits across from the WM and divulges how "they are not what they seem", before appearing to freeze in time, himself, with his head in his hand. After two minutes of complete silence, his eyes open and begin to flicker and roll back into his head, as though caught in a glitch, before suddenly snapping out of it. He then explains how incomplete he feels with Pesephone gone, but remarks that all will be well as she is set to return soon - the one problem is that the waters of the River Lethe that transport her back to him will wash away all her memories before she arrives. Hades then offers to show the WM precisely what he means and leads them into a previously locked door at the back of the office - inside is a small room decorated with six paintings of pomegrantes on the wall, and contains a long metal ladder, leading down into a floor. Descending the ladder into the floor below, he and the WM will begin to crawl on their hands and knees through heaps of black sand - Hades will wipe away some of the sand to reveal a rune underneath marking this place as the source of the reservoir to the River Lethe. He then guides the WM to the other end of the space, where a stream of water flows beneath the edge of the bank of sand, and carefully lays their hand gently across the river's surface. Doing the same, he divulges his desire to embrace oblivion and wipe his mind of all memory, however he draws himself away from the notion in the knowledge that it is he that must stay strong for Persephone's sake. He begins to crawl back away from the water's edge, before asking the WM to lay back in the sand next him - in doing so, the pair will observe a vast ceiling covered in twinkling lights emulating a sky of constellations. Hades will confess that he will often lie here, watching and waiting for Persephone's return, before turning to the WM and asking them "We'll be together again, won't we?", followed by "She will come back, won't she?", before uttering "But I wonder, this time, will she love me?". Somewhat crestfallen, he ascends the ladder back to his office, where he will escort the WM back out of his office, but not before apologising for being such poor company.

As he escorts the WM out of his office from the 1st 1:1, he will welcome in a different person. After locking the door, he stands and stares at the WM for an extended period of time before gesturing for them to sit in one of his office chairs, and stating that he hopes they're enjoying their visit. He goes on to ask the WM if they're cold, before telling them that he is, and that everyone in the city is, "without her". He shows the WM a fake pomegrante from atop one of his cabinets, and remarks that much like that pomegrante, everything in the city is fake. He then turns his attention to the window onlooking The Square, and comments on how "they" (potentially meaning both the characters and other WMs), wrongly think the city was made for them. Resting in the chair across from the WM he reassures them that Persephone will return, only she won't remember anything, as the waters of the River Lethe will wash away her memories. He confesses that he wishes he could live in blissful ignorance, and embrace the oblivion of knowing nothing, but he must stay strong and remember, for her sake. He begins muttering that she'll be home soon, before dozing off in his chair. He stays asleep for quite some time, before being awoken by the song 'Lonesome Old Town", which he automatically begins lip-syncing to, as he makes his way back to the office door to unlock it, and exit back out into The Square.

Finally, upon the conclusion of the Mycenae Finale, Persephone and Hades will walk back through to Troy, happily wrapped in each others arms, before stopping at the entrance for The Elysium Hotel, wherein they will invite a WM inside with them. Here, they will invite the WM to sit in between them as Hades talks on the phone. He speaks of booking the honeymoon suite but no one is there to greet them. Not being able to give their real names they make up a fake Mr and Mrs name and hang up the call. After which, they turn to the WM thanking them for coming and being grateful they could be there, saying “This has all been for you.” as both Hades and Persephone place half a pomegranate in each hand of the WM and squash it together all holding hands. The pair then guide the WM out, waving and speaking in unison “Goodbye”.

## Final show (24 September 2023)

While Booth performed the show's museum introduction, for the first and most of the second loop Hades was played by Eric Jackson Bradley, opposite Stephanie Nightingale as Persephone. Bradley and Nightingale remained in their roles until Hades and Persephone's waltz towards the end of the 2nd loop, whereupon they visibly swapped places with Booth and Lily Ockwell. Booth and Ockwell continued as the primary Hades and Persephone until the end of the show; however, Bradley and Nightingale returned for the Troy finale, which they viewed from the Palladium balcony.

At the conclusion of the Mycenae finale, a recorded exchange between Hades and Persephone played, where Hades reiterated that the city was theirs. Joining the crowd on the stairs, they pulled out the record player and removed the record from the turntable, symbolizing the end of the show's run.

After the applause died down, Hades called for everyone's attention: "Wait... wait!"

"What?" Persephone asked.

Hades turned the record around. "There are... two sides to this record!" he exclaimed.

"So..." Persephone replied. "What's on the other side?"

## Trivia

During previews, Hades wore a Greek tragedy theatre mask during his serenade to Persephone, in PEEP, and also wore Agamemnon's crystal-encrusted skull mask during the Mycenae finale.

Additionally, during previews several alternate finales were trialed, including one in which Hades and Persephone lured a blinded Polymestor to the office chair in Hades' Office, and sat him in full view of 'The Fall of the Damned' painting, reminding him of his incoming fate.

As of September 2022, due to changes in the pre-show entry system, Hades begins the show with a welcoming speech to the WMs upon the calling of their playing card. Here he introduces them to his "collection", describing it as a "half-museum, half maze", and encouraging them to find their own fate within it. He then singles out one WM and instructs them to travel alone through the museum exhibits, via one door, keeps one WM behind, and instructs the rest to travel together through a different door. He beckons the lone WM closer and whispers, informing them that the labyrinth they are about to go through has many centres, and so they must turn their fear into desire, before pointing them in the direction of one of the doors, leading to either Troy or Mycenae.

## Mythology

* Hades is the first born son of the Titans, Kronos and Rhea. He is the father to Macaria (Goddess of Blessed Death), Melinoe (Goddess of Chaos), and Zagreus (God of Wine and Rebirth), and brother to Zeus, Poseidon, Demeter, Hera, and Hestia.
* After defeating their father, Hades and his brothers claimed rulership over the cosmos and divided the territory among themselves. Hades received the Underworld, Zeus the Sky, and Poseidon the Sea.
* According to mythology, Hades grew lonely in the Underworld, and so kidnapped Persephone, who eventually grew to love him. Hades eventually granted her permission to visit her mother, Demeter, but before returning to the surface tempted her into eating six pomegranate seeds; knowing that eating or drinking anything in the Underworld, would bind a person to it forever. Although she was reunited with Demeter, as she had eaten whilst in the Underworld, it was agreed that for six months of each year, Persephone would stay in the Underworld with Hades, and in the spring she could once again return to her mother.
* Hades also plays a significant role in the Myth of Orpheus and Eurydice - which is loosely depicted, in the show, through the characters of Zagreus and Eurydice. The story tells of how the mortal Orpheus is engulfed in grief after the death of his beloved wife Eurydice, and thus decides to visit the Underworld and personally request Hades to release his wife. Upon hearing his story of love, Hades was reminded of his love for Persephone. Moved by Orpheus’s love for Eurydice, he grants him the privilege of allowing Eurydice to make the journey back into the land of the living. There was however only one condition - that on their way up neither Orpheus nor Eurydice should look back. Unfortunately, Orpheus was plagued by doubt and looked back for a moment, sealing Eurydice's fate, and pulling her back into the Underworld.
* Within the show, Hades' relationship with the characters of both Zagreus and Macaria is kept deliberately ambiguous, and it is never confirmed whether he is canonically their father. During their initial exchange in The White Cypress, Hades remarks that he "remembers (Zagreus) from when he was very small", which could hint towards him being his father. Furthermore, he also shares a brief moment of comforting Macaria, when she mourns Polyxena's death in The Tenement Area, which may either be incidental or reflective of a deeper connection. This is further complicated by his relationship with Iphigenia (who is implied to have been resurrected in the form of Hecate, sometimes also known as Melinoe, after her sacrifice), especially considering the reveal in Persephone's 3:1, that she was gifted to her by Hades to serve as a handmaiden; this is the strongest implication thus far of any kind of in-show familial connection.
* Despite Kronos being a character within the show, and no point do he and Hades interact, and so it's safe to assume that they're not canonically related.