Jekyll and Hyde

I have seen this show several times, with varying performances, but I can honestly say that this production was different and fresh to me.  Director Bradley Green can always be relied upon to find the small differences that make his productions stand out and this was no exception.

Ollie Gourley re-affirms his talent as an actor and his vocal range is impressive.  I was particularly impressed with his delivery of the song Confrontation, I don’t think I have ever seen such an onstage transformation between the two characters of Jekyll and Hyde, not once but five or six times (at least) during the song.  It was a Tour De Force that I will remember for a long time.

This company has an impressive line-up of Principal actors to play the other main parts.  Sarah Woolner played Emma Carew beautifully, her voice is stunning and she always looks and acts beautifully.   Eleanor Softly produced a terrific performance as Lucy, another very talented actress with a great vocal delivery.

The other Principals were all extremely good, I particularly enjoyed observing how they portrayed their individual characters; Tim Cater really was the elderly and slightly crippled General Lord Glossop.  Julian Cottee brought out the creepy nature of the Bishop of Basingstoke; Lianne Larthe, the arrogance of Lady Beaconsfield; Colin Bott, the caring father Sir Danvers Carew; Jamie Redgate, the frightened and camp Sir Archibald Proops and Tobias Smith, the faithful friend Utterson.  Louise Strachan was the leading Red Rat girl as well as choreographing the production and Chris Lidgard the menacing Spider.

The characterisations did not stop with these Principals, every member of the cast had a character and this is what really makes the whole production work.  Everyone on stage looked as though they belonged in the scene, constantly working their characters.

The scenery was effective, and there was, of necessity, a number of physical scene changes to do throughout the production.  Scene changes have a habit of breaking the pace of the production and every director tries hard to make these as seamless as possible.  It didn’t quite work on the evening I went but it was clear that a lot of thought and effort had gone into making these changes.   Costumes were beautiful, as always with LTC.  The lighting was very atmospheric although I did feel that the incessant use of smoke, albeit very lightly done, was a little too much.

The band, under the direction of MD Clare Penfold, was excellent, supporting the singing without drowning it.  There is a lot of underscored dialogue in this show and it is a credit to Clare, her musicians and the sound technicians that we heard every word.

I enjoyed the show far more than I expected to, as did the packed house.  Well done to LTC for another excellent production.

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