Don't Forget the Seatbelt of Your Heart

I was fortunate enough to see a production on stage first and Hades is usually played with a sort of strong, straight-backed, sturdy posturing. Then this is played for the reversal in his dance with Persephone as he becomes loose in his movements, soft in his gestures. It's a great performance, but both would be so hard to perform with any confidence or grace in a boot.

So Page didn't try to copy his old style of playing the role! He adapted the whole performance to utilize the boot and the cane. His movements became more serpentine to avoid pressure on his leg, and he skulked about the stage, using the cane (with a dog head handle, fantastic detail) both for stability and as a way to gesture and bring emphasis to his movements. He does not appear infirm, instead he appears partially robotic, a cold man becoming something less "human" over the years. It made him seem far MORE threatening in some scenes I would argue, as it changed his whole body language into something strange and unfamiliar, the position of the boot holding his leg in a way that made me think of werewolves.

And then, in the emotional turn, instead of making him a graceful dancer, he does suddenly look more infirm. This isn't the King of Iron, this is an old man that has worked himself so hard for so long, to the point of self-destruction, trying to protect things he was losing in the process. He is hurt, he isn't as fast as he once was, but he tries to match his wife's dance, hobbling through the steps. She tearfully holds his hand and dances around him, goes slow, so happy to be able to connect with him again, to love each other again. She accommodates his limitations, it doesn't matter that he's not what he once was, they can be something new together.