General News
7 July, 2026
Challenging ‘Hadestown’ production showcases talent of local students
Maryborough Education Centre students can take a victory lap after their ambitious Hadestown production.
Maryborough Education Centre students brought audiences to hell and back with their ambitious production of Hadestown.
The tragic love story of Orpheus and Eurydice, famously retold on Broadway, was brought to life late last month by local students.
The accomplishment took around 50 students over a year of work, countless hours of rehearsals, and the well-earned trust from their teachers.
Among them was director and theatre teacher Brendan McDougall who said the musical took double the usual effort.
One reason was the story’s complexity.
Hadestown is a modernisation of a tragic Greek love story which tackles themes of hope, love, labor and social class.
In it, Eurydice is tempted to go to the underworld, a factory town ruled by Hades, after the promise of an escape from poverty.
Orpheus, a young poet in love with Eurydice, journeys to the underworld to save her and bring her home.
Yet, beyond the story, putting the show on had its own challenges.
Hadestown involves two hours of harmonised singing alongside a live band, with complex choreography, supported by a wealth of behind the scenes work.
“It’s obviously a pretty crazy musical to attempt at a public school in regional Victoria but we think we definitely pulled it off,” Mr McDougall said.
He and music teacher Sarina Walter credit the shows success to the professionalism of the students.
“The disadvantages our school and our community face shouldn’t be barriers to stop us doing really wonderful and incredible art,” Mr McDougall said.
“It’s one of my favourite pieces of art I’ve ever made.”
The students said in their cast message the memories of the show would last a lifetime.
“This show is rooted in a rich community between all the cast, musicians, and production team, who hold deep levels of ambition and pride,” they said.
Year 12 student Olivia Rogers, who played Persephone, said the production’s culture helped her make “real connections” with people.
“The whole environment it has brought to me has helped me grow, not just as a performer, but as a person,” she said.
Year 12 student Sarah Moyle, who played Orpheus, said this could be seen in the “uplifting and energetic” rehearsals.
“It was quite spectacular watching the show come together,” she said.
Back stage she said they would support one another, whether that be caring for their strained voices, or keeping the energy up.
“We’d be making up interpretive dances to the lyrics of the song that was on stage. It was a way to stop the mind thinking about the things that could go wrong or have gone wrong already,” she said.
It’s that camaraderie which, Ms Rogers said, saw tears on closing night.
“It was quite exhausting but we were all there for each other,” she said.
Her favourite scene was the climax of the play, when Orpheus turns around to check on Eurydice at the last moment of their escape, trapping her in the underworld.
“You feel it very deeply. I tried to watch it from back stage and from what I saw it was just amazing,” Ms Rogers said.
Had she been in the audience on that last night she would have seen Ms Moyle and Emily Cauchi, playing Eurydice, with tears streaming down their face.
The reason why, Ms Moyle said, was because she would soon be leaving her friend behind when she left school.
“I’m going to be away from these people that I’ve grown up with, done stuff with, and have become quite close to me,” she said.
“We were crying from the words. We were crying because I’m telling her I’m going to wait for her.
“After the show, of course, there were so many hugs and so many tears of people celebrating the show and mourning the connection we all had from the show.”
Both Ms Rogers and Ms Moyle agreed, as they enter their next chapter in life, hope was what they would hold onto from Hadestown.
“I’ve really taken that hope with me,” Ms Rogers said.