Many congratulations to Dame Alice Harpur School alumna, Gloria Onitiri (2002), who has been cast as Persephone in the Tony and Grammy Award-winning musical, Hadestown UK.

Having secured 8 Tony Awards, including Best Musical, and a Grammy for Best Musical Theatre Album, this West End sensation beautifully blends modern American folk music with New Orleans-inspired jazz. The acclaimed musical intertwines and updates two mythic love stories – that of young dreamers Orpheus and Eurydice, and that of King Hades and his wife Persephone.

Some of Gloria’s best-known work includes leading West End roles as Rachel Marron in The Bodyguard, Nala in The Lion King, The Godmother in Andrew Lloyd Webber's Cinderella, and Desiree in Ben Elton’s West End play, The Upstart Crow.

Gloria also has a successful podcast called Letter To A Black Girl, which celebrates the best of Black British Women. Gloria gets each guest to write and read aloud a letter to their younger selves, followed by an in-depth discussion about the themes that arise from them alongside the topic of the week.

The much-anticipated premiere of Hadestown UK will open at the Lyric Theatre, London, with performances from Saturday 10 February 2024. Adding to the excitement, some of our Year 10 and Lower Sixth students will also have the privilege of seeing Gloria perform in Hadestown UK during May.