Robert Louis Stevenson’s tale of Jekyll and Hyde comes to Blackpool Grand Theatre this week in talking Scarlet’s rendition of the book. While following the life of central character Mr Gabriel Utterson, Nicholas Briggs’ adaptation tells of the internal struggle between Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and his hypothesis that man has two distinctive sides; good and evil. In his quest to separate the two he unleashes his alter ego ‘Hyde’, the perverse and uncontainable part of himself. The production promises the ‘fright of your life’ however, on this count and others it fails to hit the mark.
The cast list offers up some very credible actors who have worked in different television series, however, lines were often delivered without conviction meaning that some key moments of tension and seriousness were lost. Gary Turner starred as Mr Henry Jekyll and although he has some great experience behind him, his performance was unengaging and wooden. Key solo moments were sometimes awkward and his final monologue, which should be the pinnacle of the play; the moment the audience have a collective cathartic realisation, was generally unsuccessful and lacklustre in its execution.
Mrs Poole, portrayed by Kim Taylforth, drove hard to increase the depth of the story line while talking about how her master had changed within the last few months; how his fits of rage and screaming within his laboratory had vexed her so much so that even talking about it made her faint in despair. Sadly though, she failed to increase the tension and the staginess of her performance had some of the audience giggling.
While the lighting and music certainly add to the suspense factor that this gothic tale originally intended, the simplistic set lacked vision. Some may argue that the minimalist approach allows the actors to command more presence on stage, however, if this was the intention, for me, they failed to fully realise it. The main advantage of this set design is that the scene changes were quick and did not interfere with the momentum of the play.
Not all is lost though; a great addition to the cast comes to the fore in the form of Neil Roberts. He does an impressive job of holding the show together with his fantastic depiction of Mr Gabriel Utterson, Dr Jekyll’s lawyer. Using the simple scenery to transport the audience from scene to scene and location to location and executing an incredibly realistic performance.
Another actor who deserves mention is Ben Crowe who takes on the role of Inspector Newcomen; the comedy relief for the audience. His character offers respite from the eeriness of the play, implementing wit and humour while still being the perfect folly for main character Utterson. This relationship is a sight to be seen, the two of them working together engages the audience and is the jewel in the crown of this production.
If you want to see a play that delivers the ultimate fear factor then maybe this isn’t for you, however there are other moments that are worthy of the slightly high ticket price. The show runs until Saturday 10 September before moving on to Swindon. Tickets can be bought in person at the theatre, by phone on 01253 290 190 and online.
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