Jekyll & Hyde (The Musical)

I was kindly invited to attend Telford and District Light Operatic Players (TADLOPs) production of Jekyll and Hyde (the musical), a show that I knew very little about. The story itself is well known and can be interpreted in many different ways with the key themes of drug abuse, mental health and conflicts over love and sexuality. This can be a dark story and I was pleased to see the humour brought out in the performance to offset the macabre.

The pivotal moment of Dr Jekyll’s transformation into Mr Hyde was handled well using a two-way/revolving mirror and two separate actors. The addition of adding other performers to the stage supported the audiences experience as contemporary dance moves, played out the internal turmoil and emotions of Dr Jekyll.

The edition of overlaying the setting of Victorian England with a touch of ‘Steampunk’ was extremely creative and allowed for the set to be made of scaffolding pipes which gave an industrial feel to the show. Costumes made by the players and donated from a number of sources including the Ministry of Steampunk and Time Tarts, were of an excellent standard. Well done to Sammi McSporran as Director for her creative vision in bringing this musical to the stage.

Reiss McSporran as Dr Henry Jekyll gave a good performance in a difficult and demanding role and should be commended for his performance. The approach to some top notes did occasional come with slight hesitation but the breath control for  long and final notes were very impressive. Nat Hodgkiss as Mr Edward Hyde was equally as impressive and I particularly liked the fact that he played Dr Jekylls father in the opening scene, which gave a small insight into where the personality of Mr Hyde may have come from. His tenderness towards the character Lucy Harris was both controlled and disturbing.

Kerry Kemp played the role of Gabriel John Utterson and gave us an excellent performance. I was pleased to see that the gender of the character was well performed and maintained, including stance, mannerisms along with some lovely singing.

Sir Danvers Carew was played by Andrew Murray whose smooth tones echoed out across the auditorium particularly noticeable in the quartet, providing a solid support to the other singers.

Hannah Lister as Lucy Harris and Jessica Hodgkiss as Emma Carew gave very strong and emotive performances and a beautiful duet of  ‘In His Eyes’.  These are indeed two very talented performers.

Jamie Graham as Simon Stride gave another strong character and during the meeting of the Board of Governors commanded the stage.

Leigh Kendal as Lady Beaconsfield, Rich Kee as The Bishop of Basingstoke, Charis Virgo as Sir Archibald Proops, James McPherson as Lord Savage and Joy Baister as General Lord Glossop provided a varied mix of arrogant villains and a wide variety of ways to die.

Armi Barreno Delgardo in the support role of Spider owned the part and his rich accent added to the sinister nature of his role, along with a very impressive ‘home grown’ melodramatic beard and moustache.

Lighting and effects provided good atmosphere, scenes changes were efficient and quiet, whilst sound was good with just the occasional personal mike ‘pop’ making me jump every time!

The choreography in this production by Lucy Warrilow was contemporary and fresh. In some scenes the choreography enhanced the story telling or enhanced the feeling being expressed in the scene.

It was clear that plenty of time had been spent on the music under the instruction of Musical Director Amy Minshall. The harmony provided by the chorus and principals was particularly impressive, especially with such difficult music. The excellent music provided by the live Band, which was well balanced with the singers, provided a suitable atmosphere to the drama required for this style of production.

There were two areas to which I must refer that could have been staged differently, after each death it was disappointing to see characters who had died stand up and walk off stage during a black out and this could have been disguised by using the large chorus on stage to mask. The second was the final transformation of Dr Jekyll into Mr Hyde at the wedding, which did not achieve the same magical effect as achieved in the first transformation.

In overall conclusion I really enjoyed seeing the creativity and the dramatic elements of this production and the two leading ladies who are worthy of any West End stage.

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