Jekyll and Hyde

This is an evocative tale of two personalities, one a passionate and romantic Doctor; the other, a terrifying monster! Then there are two women, both women in love with the same man and both unaware of his dark secret.

Stephen Mura played Dr Henry Jekyll and Mr Edward Hyde and we saw the huge difference between these two characters portrayed brilliantly. His physicality and facial expressions changing to show the respectable Doctor vs the monster of Hyde. Stephen held strong vocals throughout the show and again showcased the two characters changing his vocals to reflect this, a fabulous performance. 

A devoted man of science, Dr Henry Jekyll is driven to find a chemical breakthrough that can solve mankind's most challenging medical and moral dilemma. The ‘Board of Governors’ number featured The Bishop of Basingstoke (Phil Stanley), Lady Beaconsfield (Lucy Slaney), General Lord Glossop (Jake Perry), Lady Savage (Ellie Mallinson), Sir Archibald Proops (Brian Counter). Each Governor played their upper-class character well with clear diction in the telling of the hearing. They united together well, all turning on Hyde and rejecting his proposal.

Rebuffed by the powers that be, he decides to make himself the subject of his own experimental treatments, accidentally unleashing his inner demons along with the man that the world comes to know as Mr Hyde.

Emma Carew Dr Jekyll’s besotted Fiancée was played by Claire Jarman who has a beautiful top soprano voice. Claire portrayed the love and commitment that she has for Henry Jekyll throughout her performance, I particularly enjoyed their duet in ‘Take Me as I Am’.
 

The part of Lucy Harris was played by Lindsey Greasley who gave another brilliant performance, her version of ‘Someone Like You’ at the end of Act 1 was breath taking. We really warmed to the character of Lucy and the audiences concern and worry for her safety built throughout the show.

Another person with an abundance of talent and who really shone on stage tonight was Ben Winson playing Gabriel John Utterson. Strong stage presence, standing out in the ensemble numbers and a wonderful voice that we wanted to hear more of.

The Red Rat Girls did an excellent job enticing their customers in the club with slick choreography, their number with Lucy “Bring On the Men” was excellent. The women of The Red Rat are forced to hand over 50% of their earnings to Spider and for Lucy she had to hand over 60%. Ollie Hand’s portrayal of this character made the audience feel uncomfortable, capturing Spider’s sleezy nature.

More great performances from Chris England playing the respectable Sir Danvers Carew, Martin Counter as Simon Stride and Jonty Banks as the Priest.

Many congratulations to the production team, Direction by Tom Banks and Phil Simcox, Musical Direction from Richard Hodges and Choreography by Lisa Scott-Savage.

The costumes were of a high standard and just right for this period piece. The set was very effective with a stair case and raised walkway.  It was so nice to see a traditional cloth used effectively throughout the show during scene changes.

Crystal clear sound from the sound team of Phil Simcox, Pete Gough, Tom Banks and Tom Bond. The lighting was very effective from Jamie Vella, I loved the way the lights gleamed through the stained-glass windows and the how the lighting quickly changed the mood of the scenes.

This show had a strong ensemble and it was great to see a large ensemble of men. It was a pleasure to see our Noda predecessor Keith Scott-Savage back on stage and a pleasure to catch up with him after the performance.  Strong voices and clear harmonies from all. Great use of the stage and drilled choreography. Congratulations to Good Companions Theatre Company on a united performance.

This company have some very exciting shows booked for the future Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Me and My Girl and The Band which we are looking forward to seeing.

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