REVIEW - The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde

Show Up! Southend was invited to review this production of Jekyll and Hyde produced by Southend Drama Society. It’s a new adaptation based on the famous gothic novella by Robert Louis Stevenson. And although on the whole I enjoyed the play, I am a little bit conflicted by this production.

There were dedicated performances by the entire cast. Particularly Simon Lawler’s Jekyll whose subtle transformation over the course of the play was very well done. I also enjoyed the brashness of Mr Hyde (Bill Peel) although I was expecting him to be a lot more evil; there seemed to be moments of compassion and control which jarred slightly. 

The music choices were bold and interesting but seemed a little out of place next to the style of the rest of the production. The costumes were brilliant. 

After seeing previous productions by Southend Drama Society I was expecting to see some clever ‘theatrical magic’. I liked a lot of the dramatic choices; without revealing too much.. the den scene, as well as the few split location scenes worked really nicely. The set was basic but worked very well considering the numerous locations. I always understood where we were at each moment.  And for the most part the scene changes were smooth, although some were a little long. I enjoyed how one side of the set changed from exterior and interior. 

I think I was perhaps expecting to see a little more theatrical magic when it came to the transformations between the two personalities. There were two brilliant ‘switches’ but I think I’d have liked more! And unfortunately the largest of the switches was somewhat foreshadowed because I could see a silhouette offstage – something a simple lighting tweak could solve. 

I think the production really embraced the typical Victorian melodrama and for the majority of the evening, I enjoyed this version of the tale. However the main sticking point for my enjoyment was the niggling voice in the back of my mind about the representation of women. The portrayal of women in this adaptation didn’t entirely sit well with me, a few low hierarchy characters – as well as the amount of text the female performers were given compared to their male counterparts. But despite this there were some excellent stand out performances from Ruby Karatziola as Mary and Sophie Acton as Bessie.

Overall it was a lovely evening at the theatre – and joyous to see the Dixon studio back open with a sold out performance. And it was wonderful to see an audience so engaged with a piece of new writing. Southend Drama Society’ productions always give me lots to think about and this was no exception! 

This production runs until Saturday at the Dixon Studio in Southend. CLICK HERE FOR TICKETS