Review- Jekyll & Hyde- Chung Ying Theatre
5-5-15
By: Lisa Middleton
I can’t believe that all these things happened. And none of them were in a dream.
Robert Louis Stevenson wrote one of the darkest gothically ingenious novels of all time based on a dream so horrific he burned the first manuscript (according to experts). As a huge Stevenson fan (all us Scots love him) I had never actually seen a stage performance of any of his writings – plenty movies and screen adaptations - some good, most mediocre, that never stood out as a ‘you must watch this’ to friends and family alike.
This play, this staging, this adaptation is definitely one I will tell all my friends ‘you must see this’. The cast were first rate, the stage, costumes, lighting and music blended to make an atmospheric wonder.
The Hong Kong Jockey Club Amphitheatre, HKAPA was an ideal setting for this open stage and it gave the illusion that no matter where you sat you had a good view and didn’t miss any of the action. Actors even sat at some points in the play turned their back to what would be considered the front of the theatre and this did not detract from their projection or volume, or indeed interest from the audience, at all. The surtitles were initially off-putting for me as an audience member but I understand the need for them. And once engrossed in the acting they were soon forgotten.
The setting was like a snapshot from a movie and I would love to know where the Set Designer (Neil Irish) found the inspiration for this. For me it was a mixture of Penny Dreadful, (there I go giving away my TV watching habits) and Fagin’s room in Oliver Twist. It portrayed the abandoned warehouse style of the laboratory and the wide open Victorian gentleman’s drawing room of that era with ease. What I feel really added to the atmosphere on the stage was the use of actors providing atmospheric background music and sound effects unobtrusively.
The actors were all in their own unique way strong and seemed to be perfectly fitting for the character role, that whole ‘I was born to play this role dahling!’ came to mind especially the Olivia Winteringham who plays Jekyll and Hyde – shades of Eve Green’s accent, the physicality portraying her internal struggle with her psyche and her overall presence on stage was perfect.
For me the adaptation of this character’s gender from the original book was secondary to the metamorphosis occurring not just due to a chemical reaction from a potion but to the psychology of the character who had experienced trauma at an earlier age. Michael Edwards who plays Henry Utterson, had excellent timing and his delivery of humour for impact was almost genius. His change of personality within the drama really showed that internal struggle was not exclusive to the Jekyll and Hyde character.
The supporting actors were all amazing and I loved the fact that there was a Hong Kong element to the cast and diction and projection were clear. If at times it came across as over pronounced which detracted from the characters ever so slightly. Christopher Ying who played Lanyon was a stand-out supporting actor for me and I would liked to have seen more of this character.
Things I loved about this play – Jonathon Holloway’s attention to detail in this adaptation (Tanner Row and Salamanca Street!) and his introduction of issues around feminism. A thing I did not love about this play – that there were empty seats on a Saturday night. Come on Hong Kong, this is great show!
Now where is my tattered copy of the book, so I can revisit the characters I have been reading since I was a teenager…
Jekyll and Hyde is playing at the HKAPA through May 10th. For more information, click here.
Comments
Gina
Very impressed by this show. I thought the staging was interesting but was blinded by the lights at times.
05 May 2015