Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde

Nantwich Players presented a suitably scary production of ‘Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde’ – perfect for this time of year! This production was directed by Chris Finney. The atmosphere was tangible as soon as you entered the auditorium, with a bare stage, apart from a couple of boxes used during the performance. Having the set painted black helped set the tone for this night of horror. The red door that was used throughout popped on stage against the black. This was moved throughout by the cast to help create different locations, along with other pieces of furniture, such as a desk and chair and a surgeon’s table with a corpse on it. The movement of the door was well executed by the cast, making sure that it was the right way to open. There were some great directorial choices throughout. The way that Hyde was represented with a top hat and cane was simple, yet completely effective, especially when one Hyde passed it on to another. The Hydes surrounding Jekyll as he was reading the letter was well staged. It created a claustrophobic feeling, similar to how Jekyll must have felt with all those personalities in his head. The small cast were tight-knit and worked well together, creating some excellent characterisations, which were wholly believable. There were moments in the production were performers changed characters in a blink of an eye. There was no confusion as to which character they were playing, due to their strong portrayals. The costumes really helped with the production, having the performers playing Hyde wearing the same base costume. Other items were added to create other characters they played, like Poole’s white gloves and Carew’s monocle.

Technical aspects were like another character in this production. The lighting added to the scenes, creating atmosphere. Spotlights were used to good effect throughout. The colours used added depth, as did the gobos used to help establish location. The sound effects used were good, grabbing the audience’s attention from the start.

Taking on the role of Dr Henry Jekyll was Chris Pepper. Chris brought a quietness to the role, which juxtaposed nicely with Hyde’s different personas. You could see the battle that Jekyll was going through mentally through Chris’s engaging performance, especially near the close of the play when Hyde finally took over.

Caroline Buckley played Elizabeth Jelkes. This was a strong performance from Caroline, as she questioned her love for Hyde. The audience could see the turmoil she was going through throughout, with her interactions with the cast. There was a vulnerability to her performance of Elizabeth as well.

Andy Leach played one of the Hyde iterations and Utterson. These parts were in capable hands with Andy. His Hyde was fierce at the start of the performance, and performed well as Utterson, giving a sincere friend to Jekyll. There was a clear definition between the characters that Andy played.

Simon Porter took on a multitude of roles. His Hyde 2 was suitably creepy, which Simon portrayed well. Simon gave some much needed comedy moments, which allowed the audience that moment of light-relief, especially in his performance as Sir Danvers Carew.

Ali Somers gave the standout performance in this production, playing a number of roles throughout, including Hyde 3 and Dr Lanyon. Using his physicality and voice, Ali created clear individual characters. His Dr Lanyon was cheerful and pleasant, with a great Scottish accent, whereas his Hyde was gruff and brooding. This was a fantastic supporting performance.

Vanessa Carter took on a number of roles, including Hyde 4 and Poole. Similar to the rest of the ensemble cast, Vanessa created differing characters. Her Poole was loyal to Jekyll, and having a female Hyde was an interesting interpretation that worked, showing a more caring side, perhaps, to Elizabeth, which Vanessa performed well.

Overall, this was a great production. The staging was simple, yet effective, there were some great performances, and technical elements were well integrated into the production.

A big thank you to everyone at Nantwich Players for their kind invite and hospitality. All the best for your next production, ‘The Flint Street Nativity’.

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