I was immediately intrigued by the concept of Drew McOnie’s Jekyll and Hyde, a new dance thriller inspired by Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic novella The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. McOnie devised, directed and choreographed the production, which was commissioned by the Old Vic as part of a new dance collaboration with McOnie Theatre company.Stevenson’s gothic fiction is set in Victorian London and follows the discoveries of a lawyer unravelling the mystery surrounding his friend Dr Jekyll, whose scientific experiments have allowed him to achieve the impossible: he has split himself into two people, his good self and his malevolent counterpart. Jekyll and Hyde draws on this central idea, but with an original narrative of love, lust and gruesome murder set loosely in the 1950s. The protagonist, Dr Jekyll (Daniel Collins) is portrayed as an affable, awkward botanist who falls for the saintly Dahlia (Rachel Muldoon) and is drawn to desperate measures when he believes he is losing her to the town bully, Charlie (Jason Winter). When his evil self Mr Hyde (Tim Hodges) is born, murder ensues.
While in Stevenson’s mysterious, psychological thriller Jekyll’s transformation occurs behind closed doors, in Jekyll and Hyde the internal is externalised, as the men physically embody the different aspects of Jekyll’s character to the point that they are able to exist in the same space, eventually confronting each other in a carnal, raw and climactic fight. Jekyll’s playful demeanour disintegrates throughout as the killings take place and finally it is he, not Hyde, who commits one of the bleakest acts.
There are some moments of mesmerising, dramatic movement executed with immense skill
There are some moments of mesmerising, dramatic movement executed with immense skill, both in the dual dances and in the ensemble pieces, although sometimes the choreography felt a little repetitive. There is room for development in all characterisations at the level of the writing. I was disappointed that the women of ethnic minority were cast rather problematically, with Daisy, (Alexzandra Sarmiento) serving as the obliging waitress and shop assistant while Ivy (Ebony Molina), dressed from the outset in red, becomes possessed with lust for Hyde, which leads to her own bloody destruction. Both are exceptional performers and I would love to see them in more developed and leading roles.
The production is slickly executed and visually striking, with an atmospheric lighting design and a score that keeps the pace moving and the tension mounting. While bold and macabre, it lacks some of the sophistication and subtle menace of Stevenson’s novel. Jekyll and Hyde is a grisly dance thriller that could go further to explore the possibilities its medium allows.
In Steph Smith’s Royal Court debut, nature is revolting and it feels somewhat like a modern day Hitchcock crisis. Reminiscent of The Birds, a pigeon splattering through a living-room window opens the show, and from here, these incidents worsen. 90 birds flock over a garden decking, foxes are dropping dead and mice are eating themselves. Disease infects the animals and fear infects the people, whilst each of the six interconnected characters reacts in a different way.