Jekyll And Hyde

~~This show has very tricky music so, well done, to the MD Ian Southgate and the cast for producing such a good sound.  As the show is, largely, sung through it is crucial that the cast were strong in this aspect of the production.  It was a shame that the, very occasional, dialogue was drowned by the music, especially for those actors who were not mic’d.  Although this is a small theatre, the cast really do need mics if they have to speak over music, even those who were projecting well, struggled to be heard.

David Pridige was excellent as the dual lead role, his transformation between Jekyll and Hyde in the second half was particularly well done, with just the use of minimal props.  He has a good strong voice and he sustained some of the long notes with seeming ease.  Kate Smith was terrific as Lucy Harris, a superb voice and great characterisation.  Rachel Watson played Emma Carew with great style and empathy and Bob Southgate gave a strong performance as Sir Danvers Carew.  There are a lot of Principals in this production and it would not be fair to miss any of them out as they all produced good characters.  Allister Smith (Utterson) Jamie Fudge (Simon Stride) Lloyd Bonson (Bishop of Basingtoke) Lauren Ramshaw (Lady Beaconsfield) David Ward (Lord Savage) Stewart Porter (General Lord Glossop)  and Dean Mobley (Sir Archibald Proops QC).

Some of the above Principals also played other parts in the production so well done for the differentiation.   The ensemble was excellent and the Red Rat Girls were perfectly portrayed. 

The costumes were good although, as the daughter of a titled father, I do think Emma Carew could have had at least one change of costume over the period depicted.  Scenery was extremely well done, the stage area is very small and the way the static set was laid out made perfect sense and just shows that this production does not, necessarily, require massive sets.

I do, however, take issue with the lighting.  I get it that the director was looking to create mood but, for much of the time, the stage was in semi darkness.  In fact, I came out with the start of a headache, as I had been so concentrating on watching what was happening. At one point Jekyll and Utterson were speaking in almost complete darkness!    Apart from the duet, In His Eyes, where the moves between set spots worked well, many of the set pieces were performed partially outside the lit areas, making the faces difficult to see.  Everyone had, clearly, worked hard on using facial expressions, it was such a shame that we couldn’t see a lot of it.

Overall, though, a strong production, well performed.  Thank you, too, for the hospitality shown to us.  It makes such a difference to be greeted when we arrived and hosted in the interval.

© NODA CIO. All rights reserved.