When you step out to the theatre to see a piece you are so familiar with (thanks to my English teacher Miss Hull), you wonder what can be done with such a classic tale. Surely we’ve watched, listened to, or read just about every adaptation of THE STRANGE CASE OF DR JEKYLL AND MR HYDE? You’d certainly think so, until you watch the Blackeyed Theatre production of this Victorian Gothic novella by Robert Louis Stevenson.
Jekyll and Hyde is firmly ensconced into our brains, and very much part of our everyday language – I’m sure there are moments when you’ve referred to someone as a Jekyll and Hyde character. So familiar we most certainly are with the story, or at least the premise behind it.
Yes, the story remains the same, but thanks to great adaptation and directing from NICK LANE, and a cast of four who play multiple parts. Add to that a subtle twist on the tale, a clever use of lights, shadows and set, and you really do have an eerie retelling of this tale.
If you’ve seen a Blackeyed production before, you’ll know how much Nick likes to make the actors work for their supper, giving them multiple roles, and indeed stretching them in other areas too. This is no more apparent than in the first few minutes of the show.
The actors are on stage (all four of them), wearing masks, in a carefully choreographed opening – something I wasn’t expecting. There’s a lot to take in, very quickly, as characters are established.
The cast are all excellent, with special credit to BLAKE KUBENA who is an imposing Dr Jekyll, and subsequently Mr Hyde. He owns the stage when he’s on it and once he slips into the ‘have a drink‘ moment, you can’t take your eyes off him. He is completely absorbed into Mr Hyde, as are we in the audience. Great accent and very powerful voice too.
It’s Blakes’ portrayal which makes Hyde so menacing, you feel his pain as he slowly transforms into his deeply troubled alter ego. What is so thrilling about this change, is that it’s all down to his skill as an actor and not clever tricks or props. Don’t get me wrong though, the production has a few of those up its sleeve too, just not for the character change.
You can watch our recent interview with Blake in our special feature HERE.
I was thinking at the this point how the school visits will really love this piece. Blackeyed Theatre have a brilliant, interactive schools resource for this show, and we would encourage you to take a look, and perhaps take students along to the show. I loved the book when I read it at school, and the play won’t disappoint on that score.
I digress.
I think in some part the play works so well is because of Nick Lane’s life experience. He was injured in a car accident when he was 26, which permanently damaged his neck and back. If you watch this production knowing that, you get a sense of one person’s (Jekyll) desire to reinvent himself, to try and step away from the physical challenges of his life.
Nick imagined Jekyll as a physically weakened man who discovers a cure for his ailments, a cure that also unearths the darkest corners of his psyche. What he has done for this production has breathed new life into the story, without playing too much with the original text.
One of the ways he has done this is through Eleanor, played by PAIGE ROUND. She’s not only a major character in the story, but very much pushes Jekyll on to complete his work. The interaction between the two is hypnotic at times, to say the least. The long passionate looks add to the tension, you wait for that moment when they finally embrace, but you also know it’s never going to end well for Eleanor.
Paige is definitely a master of the accents, slipping from her Irish brogue as Eleanor, to cockney ‘working girl’ Annie.
As for the other cast members, (you sometimes forget there are only four of them), they are all equally impressive, slipping seamlessly from character to character, with nothing more than a scarf and their talent to signify the change.
ZACH LEE demonstrates this, as you can see in the picture below. He is Gabriel Utterson, Jekyll’s lawyer and friend, if indeed the good Doctor has any. Hastings Lanyon is another of Jekyll’s entourage, played by ASHLEY SEAN-COOK. Both are equally impressive in their roles, and the perfect balance to the imposing Mr Hyde.
This is still the Jekyll and Hyde we know and love from the 1886 book. It is intense and menacing, but actually darkly humorous in part too.
The music is key to the production (Tristan Parkes) and prepares you for what you know is coming, and to be honest, secretly been waiting for. The innocent victim is there, Hyde is at his most unstable, and when the two collide, murder is in the air.
Without giving too much away, but also needing to applaud the team for the way they handle this scene, it is incredibly well staged. The use of long, dark shadows, the pulsating music and the well choreographed slow motion action of the two actors, leads to a vicious, brutal moment, which is memorable to say the least.
You won’t be disappointed with this production of THE STRANGE CASE OF DR JEKYLL AND MY HYDE. If you are new to the story, or indeed know the tale well, the team at Blackeyed Theatre have put their own stamp on a classic tale, while retaining all the elements which make it a timeless piece.
It’s on this week at the New Theatre in Cardiff till this Saturday 13th November. Performances begin at 7:30pm with 2:30 matinees on Thursday and Saturday. Tickets are priced below…..
- Tuesday – Thursday 7.30pm & Saturday 2.30pm
£14.00 – £30.00 - Friday & Saturday 7.30pm
£15.00 – £31.50 - Thursday 2.30pm
£13.00 – £24.50 - Boxes (maximum of 6 people)
From £110 – £155.00 - Standard Reductions: £3.50 off
Tuesday – Friday 7.30pm - School Parties: £15.00 each
Wednesday – Thursday
To book yours, and get more details, go HERE.
