THE CLASSIC GOTHIC STORY IS TRANSFORMED INTO A RELENTLESS ONE-MAN SHOW

By Francesca Killoran | Francesca Killoran ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Press Invite

As part of the Camden Fringe, James Hyland has revived his one-man adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson’s Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. Hyland immediately breaks the ice by introducing himself as Dr Henry Jekyll (deliberately pronounced ‘Gee-kill’ not ‘Jeh-kuhl’, a mistake that he claims the uneducated often make!). The novella is transformed into a lecture given to the Royal College of Surgeons with Hyland addressing the audience as his academic and professional peers. From the very beginning, the performance is intense and utterly engaging.

The sheer physicality of Hyland’s performance left me feeling breathless, but he did not pause as he transformed seamlessly into various characters. He bends and contorts his body to embody evil incarnate in the form of Mr Hyde. The story of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde has become so ubiquitous that even without reading the book, people are aware of the plot twist. It was the original Fight Club. This audience awareness of the fact that the evil of Mr Hyde is contained within the body of Dr Jekyll could have presented a challenge for adapting the plot for the stage. Yet, Hyland’s incredible bodily control allowed him to perfectly and convincingly portray Jekyll’s loss of control. His retching and burping when standing upright as the uptight doctor showed the ways that the façade of gentlemanliness was slipping. Hyland is convincing as the titular duo of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, and as a whole host of supporting characters ranging from members of the academy, to a young boy, to a pair of East-End criminals, and a sex worker.

As a history nerd, you have to squint your eyes a bit as this Brother Wolf production merges 1886 and 1888 to dramatically increase Hyde’s murder count. The play begins by direct reference to Catherine Eddowes and Whitechapel murders of Jack the Ripper. Dr Jekyll is obviously impressed by the surgical skill of the “maniac” murderer. Later, when Mr Hyde’s evil desires become fully actualised, he murders a sex worker named Polly. This is a direct reference to the murder of Mary Ann Nichols, the Ripper’s first victim.

In 2013, this ruthless monologue won Hyland Best Male Act at the Solo Festival. This evening, we sat in the comfortable theatre space above a Highgate pub in front of a sparse setting which featured one solitary lectern at centre stage. Throughout the hour the lectern lives many lives as an operating table, a bar stool, and even a corpse. The strength of Hyland’s physical performance makes a pile of wood a convincing and emotive partner. I flinched as he mimed stabbing the lectern with an imaginary surgical knife. Chris Warner’s music bookends the show hauntingly. A nursery rhyme refrain is repeated and returned to throughout. Both Jekyll and Hyde recite the refrain “a man of words and not of deeds, is like a garden full of weeds”. It is very effective!

The hour flew past as Hyland showered us in spittle and sweat. It was unforgettable and intense and hypnotically gruesome while existing as a piece of theatre that takes place predominantly in your mind. Hyland’s performance is raw and phenomenal, but it is his voice and vivid descriptions that keep you on the edge of your seat. If you are looking for an evening of light entertainment, this is not the show for you. However, if you want to spend an hour in the presence of psychopathic evil without restraint, I cannot recommend this enough!

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