Jekyll & Hyde

Set in 1880’s London, this musical is based on  “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” by Robert Louis Stevenson. It has been adapted many times for film and stage and this particular version appeared on Broadway in 1997.

The stark dark stage with only a staircase and ‘balcony’ set the scene and throughout, we were peering at the action through ‘atmospheric’ mist, which made it difficult at times to see anybody on that ‘balcony’. That said, the clever use of lighting, certainly made up for the lack of scenery and created such atmosphere, especially in ‘The Confrontation’, which needed good lighting timing.

Playing the very demanding dual role of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde was a very talented Scott Highway who portrayed the torment of Jekyll and the evil of Hyde, terrifying yet emotional through both his singing and acting. Another strong performance was given by Debbie Brennan, who used her moving voice, to reflect the vulnerabilities of her character, Lucy.  Rebecca Lehmann was well suited to the part of Emma, Jekyll’s love interest and gave a very moving performance when she cradled Jekyll on his demise. Tarquin Flanagan gave a good portrayal as Jekyll’s friend John Utterson reflecting the feelings of a captivated audience. In fact, all of the supporting cast made their individual characters their own.There was excellent choreography by Emma Hodge on what looked like a very cramped area.The music of this show is fantastic and it was brought to us by an excellent MD Peter Bailey, leading a super orchestra, hidden at the back of the stage. 

This really was an excellent production directed by Francene Harris, with every single member of the cast and backstage crew pulling of what is a difficult musical to stage.

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