by Evan Placey after R. L. Stevenson
A radical re-imagining of Stevenson’s classic story, where the civilised Edinburgh society of Mrs Jekyll meets the seedy Flossie Hyde of Soho in a thrilling collision of Victorian England with the here and now.
This amateur production appears by arrangement with Nick Hern books
Contains some adult content
CAST
Harriet Jekyll / Flossie Hyde
Emily Shillan
Gabriel John Utterson
Luke Willis
Florence Monroe
Clare Moss
Gertrude / Georgie
Sara Tehrani
Abbie / DC Williams / Martha / Millie
Evie Wakefield
Ida / Izzy
Rosemary Olagba
Sally / Lucy / Josephine
Emma Carlton
DCI Renford
Reiss Jones
Officer Rose / Johnny / Doctor Finn
Ian Kingsbury
Doctor Lanyon
Richard Whitehorn
Tommy / Paperboy
Sam Howitt
Judge Richard Enfield / Tennyson
Max Bromley
Priest / Doctor Maxwell
John Anthony
Officer Ray
Joe Stanway
Barmaid
Sofia Bell
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"Jekyll & Hyde" by Evan Placey after R L Stevenson
Nottingham Lace Market Theatre
Don't be misled into thinking that this is the Robert Louis Stevenson version of Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde, the Gothic novel that we know and love, because this is something slightly different. And I'd hate for you to miss out on this particular piece of theatre!
Evan Placey has re-imagined the story and placed Mrs Jekyll, wife of the now deceased Dr Jekyll, at the centre of the story. Mrs Jekyll is carrying on the work of her late husband, brought about by the way that she is treated and seen by men, and has created her alter-ego of the seedy Mrs Flossie Hyde.
Hyde starts to frequent the seedy Fox and Hounds public house/bordello after visiting the theatre on her own and being invited to the den of ill repute by one of the actors from the theatre. She sees the dark side of life, and chooses to become part of it, and then takes that step further...
The play shines a light on how women from the Victorian period were treated and looked upon by society, and compares that stance with the way that women are addressed today showing that we have moved on in our attitudes, but just how much? A well-timed piece of theatre as Tuesday is International Women's Day.
What this play also shows are the similarities between today's woman and the issues that women today have to face, via outlets like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tik Tok etc and makes comparisons with Victorian womankind and how they are expected to behave by menfolk.
Act Two shines a different light on the comparisons with Florence, a modern-day blogger and Harriet, which is clever, as well as just a little disturbing. Just who is controlling who?
I will admit that, at times it is a bit confusing where the lines between the two periods are blurred by modern technology overspilling into the Victorian age. There are several layers to this play which after dissecting the action in my mind after the play ended, did start to fall into place. If nothing else it shows how far attitudes have advanced, what needs to happen, and creates discussion.
There is almost no attempt in the script to differentiate between the respected Mrs Jekyll and the sleazy, murderous Lady Hyde apart from a pair of red fingerless gloves, a hitch of the skirt and her hair let down. It allowed me a smile when her policeman friend, Gabriel, who she had known all her life feigned any kind of recollection, especially as he had visited the public house and was seduced by Lady Hyde. It's like when nobody recognises Batman when he puts the mask over his eyes.
There is quite a bit of comedy within the play, not only within the script but visual, as part of the projection design, so keep an eye on that as well as listening to the actors.
I'm not sure if it was me as well, but some of the actors seemed not to gel with their characters and/or got under the skin of the characters, and some of the script did not flow naturally with them. This could be the way the play has been written.
Talking of which, in the scene where Florence is being interrogated in Act Two, the script called for the woman police officer to say "F You". Now I would have thought that the character would have said the actual word and not "F" You. This would have kept in line with the grittiness and realism of modern-day police interrogation. That is if we are to believe what we see on TV in shows like "Line Of Duty". Maybe the script was written like this to be polite or maybe profanities of this strength were changed to protect the ears of the audience.
You may think that I didn't enjoy this production, but you'd be wrong. I found it a very interesting piece of theatre, especially with the comparisons between the two different generations. Different they may have been but very similar in the subject matter and attitude.
The cast for this production were as follows...
Emily Shillan (Harriet Jekyll / Flossie Hyde), Luke Willis (Gabriel John Utterson), Clare Moss (Florence), Sara Tehrani (Gertrude / Georgie), Evie Wakefield (Abbie / DC Williams / Martha / Millie), Rosemary Alogba (Ida / Izzy), Emma Carlton (Sally / Lucy / Josephine), Reiss Jones (DCI Renford), Ian Kingsbury (Officer Rose / Johnny / Doctor Finn), Richard Whitehorn (Doctor Lanyon), Sam Howitt (Tommy / Paperboy), Max Bromley (Judge Richard Enfield / Tennyson), John Anthony (Priest / Doctor Maxwell), Joe Stanway (Officer Ray / Ensemble) and Sofia Bell (Ensemble).
I loved the bawdiness of the Fox and Hounds' host as well as emergence of the characters of Jekyll/Hyde and Florence's transformation right at the end of the play. Max as Enfield also made me smile, especially with his scenes with Sam Howitt. I'll not say why as I wouldn't want to spoil it for you, but how both kept a straight face, I'll never know.
Directed by Beverley Anthony, she utilised the whole of the stage as well as the auditorium and kept everything pacy, balancing the comedy and more shocking scenes perfectly. I liked the way the switch from the Church scene where the congregation were singing Come All Ye Faithful direct to the public house scene by segueing into "Come and make eyes at me, down at the old Bull and Bush". Smooth!
Lighting Design by Allan Green, split the set with partial blackout to allow focus on where we should be concentrating on, making it easier to switch between modern day and Victorian scenes.
Sound Design by Aaron Connolly, pitched everything just right and created a nice full sound, especially in the church scene.
Projection Design by Gareth Morris, with a screen to split the various chapters as well as depict the modern-day tech on most mobiles nowadays.
The set was split into three different areas comprising of the Jekyll residence, complete with a window to the Jekyll lab, the police interview room and the Fox and Hounds section. This area was also used for various other scenes throughout, including the Women's Rights rally section. Very well thought out and constructed set.
The play is a real conversation piece and will stay with you after the virtual curtain comes down on the performance. And by the looks of it, the show is selling really well, so you may need to get online to get your tickets ordered, to make sure that you get a seat.
Read the original article here.
Review: Jekyll and Hyde by Evan Placey. The Lace Market Theatre. Nottingham.
This relatively new theatrical alternative version of Jekyll and Hyde created originally by Evan Placey after R L Stevenson for the National Youth Theatre in 2017 finds itself at The Lace Market Theatre this week running until 12th March 2022. It is claimed to be a radical re-imagining of R L Stevenson’s story taking place after Dr Jeykll’s death.
It is a mash up of Victorian England and the modern day and explores how the repression of female voices is as prevalent in the 19th Century as it is today. The story centres around two main protagonists, Harriet, Jekyll’s widow and Florence, a young blogger in the 21st Century. As we see these two narratives unfold the audience are confronted by the power the Internet holds to unleashing our own inner ultra violent Hydes. That in itself is open to question and down to individual usage and abuse. Its main themes are male indifference in a patriarchal society to morality, sexuality and female equality, progression and a gross lack of medical care re Irish doctors refusing to give abortions. The two female leads find their own vindictive ways of dealing with these atrocious behaviours. Well, that’s the gist of it and a fine premise for a play but does it work as a piece of theatre. And was there really a Mrs Jeykll? From my memory the kindly but haunted Dr Jeykll was engaged to a Miss Carew.
One assumes that this play was written during the time that all the UK theatre dramaturgs were on their annual leave together, like Players’ Fortnight used to be, because its structure leaves rather a lot be desired, especially in the first half. The second half reads and is acted much more along the solid lines of a compelling play about sexual politics and acts of murder. It starts well enough, opening, as it does, in a circus tent with the lady tiger tamer (Emma Carlton) controlling the vicious tigers that surround her and threaten to pounce and kill at any second. There is a promising emblematic atmosphere set here. Then the Victorian England illusion is broken as a young woman in modern dress (Clare Moss as Florence) crosses the playing space to sit in the dark brooding over a computer tablet for the entire first act.
Mrs Harriet Jeykll (Emily Shillan) tries to get her own scientific discoveries accepted by the male only chief scientists of the time but is rebuffed and ends up taking her own serum (classic literature repeating itself) and turns into the female version of the evil Hyde. Although how nobody recognises her bad girl alter ego from her just donning a pair of red fingerless gloves and letting her hair down with some flourish and relief and adopting a malevolent side is beyond belief. Frequenting a local pub / brothel she goes on a vengeful killing spree of menfolk who have grieved her or other women. Evan Placey doesn’t just consider female harassment but adds a short section about homosexual victimisation as an older closet homosexual Judge, played with repressed guilt and anger by Max Bromley, buggers, then blames a young male prostitute for his nature and culpability.
The writer’s notion of proverbially flicking out bits of modern-day media speak and internet adverts whether actually spoken in the middle of Victorian dialogue or back projected on to a screen above doesn’t really work in advancing or enhancing the story. Whilst, in retrospect, I guess it is supposed to show links between the 19th Century and a 21st Century socially saturated by the internet. However, at the time of onstage action it acts (for me) as a critical confusion to the story-telling. Why a ‘tell us a corny joke now’ section is left in is totally unexplainable. It cheapens the show’s message and is utterly pointless. There is also the questioned mention of the name Gestapo which Harriet Jeykll lets slip and dismisses as a ‘word I heard somewhere’.
Where Placey chooses in some places to make her character’s language quite ripe there is an odd occasion in act two where, under police investigation, Florence uses the F word. She actually says “Eff off!” where “Fuck off” would have been more convincing and less coy. It is in these and more aspects, of confused and out of place communication in the stage directions and text, that this reviewer is beginning to lose the plot. But, as they say, this is only one person’s opinion. I just feel they destroy any credibility in the piece as a dramatic work that purports to be feminist led and taken seriously. It may be billed as intense and multi-layered but whether Placey’s play gives us any kind of answers to the plight of women in both centuries when the resultant action is wholly in support of the glorification of fatal violence is doubtful. Maybe that is the question the piece should be asking – does brutal violence to the point of death solve anything, even if, like Florence in the play, the violent person isn’t actually the perpetrator but the instigator of anti-male violence forming and organising a death squad female collective on the internet. Death caused at a distance vs a brutal stabbing. Are they to be judged as the same?
On the plus side it is great to see some fresh faces on The Lace Market stage. The direction by Beverly Anthony uses plenty of the theatre space, often bringing the actors into the auditorium. The lead actors give credible performances in this adaptation of Jekyll and Hyde, especially in the gripping second half. The supporting actors are best in the convincing crowd scenes as the Feminists are heckled and abused by the ignorant sexist males of the time.
Despite my criticisms I would say it is worth seeing and maybe you can make up your own mind about the multi layered themes of Jekyll and Hyde as penned by Evan Placey.
Read the original article here.
Theatre Review: Jekyll and Hyde
It is with a deep shame that I must admit that tonight is the first time I have ventured to the Lace Market Theatre. Long have I wanted to go off the beaten track and tucked away in Lace Markets’ narrow streets is an unassuming diamond waiting for you to notice its sparkle. Informal and inviting we are seated in for tonight’s performance of Jekyll and Hyde. One of the most enduring stories of our time. My curiosity is piqued as this is a continuation from the original. An almost fan fiction with women being at the forefront of the story in navigating the wants and desires whilst constricted in the buttoned down patriarchal world the newly widowed Mrs Jekyll finds herself in.
Smart and tight dialogue flows from the cast which is impressive considering opening night is usually the time where jitters can get the best of even the most thesped thespians yet here we are watching great dialogue delivered with meaning and purpose that pulls you in from the very beginning. This is testament to the professionalism of the cast and the direction of B Anthony who has created a moving and thought provoking piece.
Other mentions are to the fabulous Emily Shillan whose embodiment of the titular character(s) was a joy to watch seeing empowerment develop to boiling point was a real highlight for the audience. Also a mention for Luke Willlis’ portrait of Utterson, the investigator of these strange goings on was a powerful performance mentioned amongst the crowd in the interval and who strengthened into the second half and built and built as the drama unfolded - definitely a performer to watch out for in the future!
I found the telling of this version of Jekyll and Hyde so very refreshing to watch, this take (like all good art should) challenges views and asks uncomfortable questions that are often overlooked in a society that is often complicit in oppression of people without a voice to fight back. There’s also some good laughs running through it which provides a few grains of sugar whilst the medicine goes down. Again, the words of Evan Placey and the timing of the cast really hit home the humour which gave this performance charm as well as the gravitas to speak up about societal failures. I loved the gossip running between the society ladies and the pompous hilarity of the royal college were superbly done and the cast all really shone.
Jekyll and Hyde is selling fast (Tuesday is sold out already) if you can get there and support local theatre you won’t be disappointed. The performances run until Saturday and with this being the week that coincides with international women’s day I would strongly urge you to visit. I’m going again to watch the performance get better and better. The duality of that is ironic really, but this version of Jeykll and Hyde is something you really should watch twice.
Read the original article here.
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