Robert Louis
Stevenson’s The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde has been turned by playwright
Evan Placey into what he calls ‘a radical re-imagining’ rather than an
adaptation. Written originally for the National Youth Theatre to reach a modern
and younger audience this production has been ‘re-imagined’ by Director Sam
Donovan and performed by adult students from the Summer Production term at Merseyside
Academy of Drama (MAD). This time-hopping play, set in two different worlds is complicated
and undoubtedly feminist with Placey giving glorious female roles. The ensemble
cast rise to the task with determination and professionalism under Donovan’s detailed
direction as he unravels their story while making great use of the unusual
theatre space.
The story
takes the two-sided theme to the extreme. It explores female suppression and
subsequent anarchy in a patriarchal society. Set initially in Victorian London,
Hattie the widow of Dr Jekyll goes to the theatre and appears tempted but
declines an offer from a performer to go with them to a local pub where actors,
prostitutes and homosexuals gather. She goes home where she is surprised by
Detective Utterson who is investigating her husband’s death as a murder as Dr
Jekyll had an unexplained head injury. Hattie seems indignant as it was she
that had seen him last and had found his body in his laboratory in their house.
Later that night Hatties goes for a walk and passes the pub. Shrouded in fog, a
policeman appears and warns her that she might be taken for a prostitute in
this area. Hattie goes home and conducts Dr Jekyll’s experiments herself. She takes
his research on ‘Man is not truly one, but truly two’ to the Royal Society
where Lanyon rejects her appeal to continue her husband’s work on the grounds
that she is an uneducated woman who should go home and do needlework. Hattie is
next seen injecting a sinister liquid into her arm aided by a young blogger
Florence from present day. Hattie throws off her widow’s weeds and transforms
into the dominatrix Lady Flossie Hyde who promptly takes herself off to the pub
where Lanyon is being entertained by prostitutes and a male judge by a rent
boy. Hattie then witnesses suffragette Josephine Butler campaigning for the
repeal of the Contagious Diseases Act and is so infuriated that as Lady Flossie
she kills the doctor who comes to the pub to inspect the prostitutes. She is
arrested by two present day police officers. We discover in the second act that
Hattie is a fictional character created by Florence for her blog. The blog has
been used by a feminist group to incite violence and Florence is accused of
directing them. The two worlds and characters merge as Hattie and Florence play
out their roles in their own time periods until their final conclusion.
The simple
set, designed by Ria Matthews, of giant mirrors (one frameless modern and one
traditional gilt) placed at either end of the long and narrow performance space
shimmered eerily with ample smoke. Dim
lighting designed by Rachel Smart added to the mood and the audience seated
either side on the same level of what felt like a dark street was engulfed in
smoke and mirrors. A feisty, whip cracking lion-tamer in a scarlet basque startles
the audience as she prowls the space commanding attention as a huge image of a
lion is projected. This is Sally, played brilliantly by Blanca Perez Sepulveda
as she thrills the now immersed audience that becomes her theatre audience. This
is a light-hearted highlight in what is an otherwise dark tale. Gillian Lewis
gives an outstanding performance as Hattie/Flossie Hyde in this wordy role. It
would be easy to overlook the men in the midst of such talented women but they
held their own with Nathan Topping conveying both authority and sensitivity as love-struck
Detective Utterson. John Hilton gave a superb cameo as playful then threatening
homosexual Judge Enfield and the Royal Society lead by Sean Geddes playing
Lanyon maintained their full RP voices throughout. Accents were featured
heavily in the ensemble cast of twenty-one and worked well in creating
convincing characterisation in their suffragette and prostitute roles. Sheddie
Broddle brought the two worlds together as young blogger Florence appearing in
modern dress throughout. Her scenes in act two were powerful and she commanded
the stage. The costume designs were given no credit but deserve mention for
their attention to detail and bringing a fantastic Victorian music hall feel to
this ambitious production. Credit must go to the MAD Production team for clever casting and
maximising talent with varying experience to bring a thoroughly engaging
theatrical experience.
Reviewer - Barbara Sherlock
on - 21/8/18
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