Joy Wielkens to star in 'Hadestown' in the West End

Joy Wielkens joins the London production having performed the role at the Royal Theatre Carré in Amsterdam earlier this year. Her other credits in the Netherlands include Beneatha’s Place, Billie!, A Raisin in the Sun, The Mountaintop, and Dear Winnie.

Dutch actor and singer Joy Wielkens will take over from Girls Aloud star Nicola Roberts in the West End production of Hadestown from 20 January 2026. She will play Persephone and remain in the role through 8 March 2026.

Wielkens joins the London production having performed the role at the Royal Theatre Carré in Amsterdam earlier this year. Her other credits in the Netherlands include Beneatha’s Place, Billie!, A Raisin in the Sun, The Mountaintop, and Dear Winnie.

Roberts will play her final show on 18 January 2026.

Wielkens joins Desmonda Cathabel as Eurydice, Chris Jarman as Hades, Cedric Neal as Hermes, and Dylan Wood as Orpheus.

Melanie Bright, Allie Daniel and Lauran Rae play the Fates; Femi Akinfolarin, Michelle Andrews, Ollie Bingham, Laura Delany and Sebastian Lim-Seet play the Workers, with Lucinda Buckley, Juan Jackson, Oisín Nolan-Power, Lindo Shinda and Jasmine Triadi as Swings.

Music, lyrics, and book writer Anaïs Mitchell blends indie folk, pop, blues, and New Orleans-inspired jazz to create a genre-defying musical that intertwines two mythic love stories: Orpheus and Eurydice, and King Hades and his wife Persephone.

Hadestown is currently booking until 27 September 2026.

Casting for performances from 10 March 2026 will be announced soon.

Book Hadestown tickets on LondonTheatre.co.uk

Photo credit: Joy Wielkens. (Courtesy of production)