Friday 6 March 2015

Jekyll and Hyde - Theatre Mill

Jekyll and Hyde - Theatre Mill

Four/Five

*spoiler alert throughout*

"?£%£$£!£$%$£%$^^^&&***%@" - James Ralph, 2015

I think that quote clearly shows the general reaction to Theatre Mill's latest production. It is a beautifully measured production that every now and again allows it to take a punch at the audience, mainly at the end of each half. What it does brilliantly is be stylish without really throwing it at you (I wish Uncle Vanya would take note) and keep you invested in the big scene changes that can threaten to lead you into tedious oblivion.

Assuming that people don't know the story of Jekyll and Hyde (as I didn't) the play centres around a narrator (the solid Adam Elm) Gabriel's meeting with the eponymous Dr Jekyll (the incredible James Weaver). Dr Jekyll LOVES an invention, especially when it pushes the boundaries of the science surrounding the human psyche. Unfortunately, you can only kill so many rats in Victorian England (who knew? Gino D'acampo isn't the only one getting in trouble) and so he is forced to find other experiments - eventually himself. In the meantime, he's starting to fancy his best mate's wife, Eleanor (the multi-role-ing Viktoria Kay) and increasingly worry his best mate, Hastings (David Chafer). Eventually people start to realise that the monster Hyde is actually Jekyll (a twist that frankly I never saw coming) and Hyde's knack for killing people becomes a bit much. 

There are some wonderful moments in this production. The slow-mo fighting, timed to perfection, ending the first half on black out as Hyde leaps forward to savage his random victim left the entire audience stunned, just looking at each other. It is the type of moment that you rarely get, particularly in the regional theatre I've encountered (especially when I'm the youngest person in the audience by at least 10 years). Similarly, the end of the play, as Gabriel opens the bag of Dr Jekyll's notes and the blinding light of knowledge encompasses him as the delighted face of Hyde looms closer and closer to him and as he looks into his face, shocked, BOOM the play ends. 

All of this is made possible by some very fine performances. James Weaver as Jekyll/Hyde is unreal, his physicality twisting and turning and every now and again making you question if the same actor is actually playing them both. Similarly, David Chafer does a brilliant job with his different characters, I didn't for example realise that he was playing the butler Poole until halfway through. 

Becs Andrews' set was cleverly designed, the glo-in-the-dark equations on the crates, the hanging lights that could be attached to lampposts instantly to give a sense of location. The lighting and music by Andy Pilliner is the most vital production element, the sneaking, creeping music sometimes telling you what will happen, sometimes giving nothing away; the lighting keeping you in suspense but also framing each scene instantly. 

If more theatre like this existed, maybe there would be more theatre fans in York. 


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