This week, London's Theatre Royal Drury Lane proudly unveiled Hercules, the highly anticipated Disney musical.

Featuring music by the legend (and Disney favorite) Alan Menken, lyrics by David Zippel, a brand-new book by Kwame Kwei-Armah and Robert Horn, and choreography by Casey Nicolaw, this exciting new production is tells the beloved story of the half-god, half-mortal and his thrilling adventures!

Find out what the critics thought of this exciting new opening below!

Reviews

The Telegraph

"This fun-filled adaption has retained the Disney animation's goofy knockabout humour and refusal to take itself seriously"

"Nothing to scare the gods then, but for families with young children, an excellent tip for summer."

The Guardian

"... lightning does not strike twice with this stage version, although it is a sturdy enough Disney vehicle, with strong songs and plenty of splash. There is a briskness to its drama, under the direction of Casey Nicholaw, and a pounding out of the material Songs! Lights! Action! that makes it seem like a conveyor-belt musical."

"... the sound and optics are always eye-popping, the swivelling set designs intent on moving heaven and earth. Gregg Barnes and Sky Switser's costumes are heavenly, too, and camp as hell".

"... in the second half Kwame Kwei-Armah and Robert Horn's book gets funnier, Hercules turns goofier and his love story with Meg (Mae Ann Jorolan, cool cat to Brady's golden retriever) grows in chemistry."

The Evening Standard

"It might be faint praise but this adaptation of Disney's 1997 animated film, which plays fast and loose with ancient Greek myth, is like the slickest panto you've ever seen. Director/choreographer Casey Nicholaw's production is pacy and family friendly, full of cheery songs and snarky jokes"

"... the show chugs along agreeably enough, powered by the attitude and powerhouse vocals of the Muses."

The Times

"The new numbers are efficient but unmemorable, nor is there much of a buzz about the romance between Luke Brady's likeable hero and Mae Ann Jorolan's winsome Meg."

"The good news, though, is that Trevor Dion Nicholas adds mischief as Hercules' sidekick Phil"

"Stephen Carlile makes an authentically sneering villain as Hades: all hurt pride and flaring nostrils, he brings a touch of panto energy to the proceedings. Whenever he's on stage, the script co-written by Robert Horn and our own Kwame Kwei-Armah starts to crackle."

Timeout

"... here comes Hercules, the next in the megacorp's long line of perfectly adequate, not very imaginative adaptations of its bountiful '90s animated roster."

"All that accepted, it's a sturdy action-adventure romp that absolutely does the trick and is eminently worth taking The Kids to during the hols."