Gothic Horror is somewhat of an enthusiasm of mine. The old classic tales that feel as scary now as they did when they were written hundreds of years ago; Frankenstein, Dracula, Dorian Grey and of course, the play whose title now forms part of the English language for a person with wildly different sides, Jekyll and Hyde.
Arrows and Traps have reworked Jekyll and Hyde and moved the action from 1800’s Victorian Britain to the political landscape of North America in 2020. Dr Henry Jekyll is now the ambitious mayor of an un-named American city with one eye on the White House and the other eye on his Edward Hyde (played by Chris Tester) counterpart and keeping him under control. Over the course of the next two hours, we’ll see comment and focus on sex-work, gun-control, homophobia, political corruption and human fear and horror.
The general style of the production has been switched up from horror to thriller, with the main focus being on Gabrielle Utterson (Lucy Ioannou), the press secretary of Dr Jekyll who is utterly bemused and mystified by the actions of her boss, and the strange hold that Mr Hyde has over him.
The first half of the show sets the scene: giving us important backstory to where we find ourselves now, setting the scene, and making sure we know who everyone is. The second half is where the play really kicks into gear and makes you sit up and take notice. It would be unfair to reveal much but there are elements in that second half that really hit home hard. Will Pinchin as Jekyll is particularly impressive in the final third, as he essentially channels the three characters: Jekyll, Hyde and someone in between.
Jekyll and Hyde is an ambitious production, with a very talented cast, and a creative crew that clearly know what they are doing. This may not be the Jekyll and Hyde you expect to see when you sit down, but when you stand up at the end, its a Jekyll and Hyde that will stick in your memory.
There is one performance left in Birmingham at The Old Rep Theatre at 7pm this evening (28th February 2020) before the theatre group head off to Cirencester to continue the tour.
Disclaimer : I was invited along to the press showing by The Old Repertory Theatre. All thoughts and opinions are entirely our own.