Jekyll and Hyde, currently running to great critical acclaim at Derby Theatre, will arrive at Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch 26 October – 12 November.
Robert Louis Stevenson’s iconic tale will be brought vividly to life through Neil Bartlett’s brilliant and extraordinary adaptation, and through a stellar cast and creative team
Playing the title role(s) of Jekyll and Hyde will be Nicholas Shaw, whose numerous theatre and TV credits include: Beauty and The Beast and Brassed Off (New Vic Theatre); Wonderland (Nottingham Playhouse); Nell Gwynn (Shakespeare’s Globe/Nimax); Wolf Hall Parts 1 & 2 (Royal Shakespeare Company at Winter Garden Theatre, NYC), and for TV: Bridgerton, After Life, Endeavour and Young Wallander, to name but a few.
Nicholas will be joined by Polly Lister as Dr Stevenson. Charlie Buckland as Lanyon. Hilary Greatorex as Matron and Mrs Poole. Tife Kusoro as The Girl. James Morrell as the Inspector Craig Painting as Enfield. Levi Payne as the Guest and Robert Vernon as Utterson.
The creative team for Jekyll and Hyde are Neil Bartlett (Adaptor); Sarah Brigham (Director); Jessica Curtis (Designer); Deborah Pugh (Movement Director); Simeon Miller (Lighting Designer); Omar Khan (Assistant Director) and Stuart Allen (Producer).
Jekyll and Hyde is the latest collaboration between Derby Theatre and Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch, following on from previous co-produced successes, including Abigail’s Party by Mike Leigh (“Cringing brilliance”, The Guardian), and a companion piece called Abi by Atiha Sen Gupta (“Delightfully enjoyable”, Broadway Baby); Richard Bean’s One Man, Two Guvnors (“Gloriously daft and highly entertaining”, The Stage) and Shakespeare’s Macbeth (“Slick and Polished”, British Theatre Guide).
Dr Jekyll is well respected but when a momentous scientific discovery is made, it spins into a double life in which inner demons threaten to take control.
In the streets of Victorian London, respectability is mixed with murder. As two identities begin to blur, we are invited to delve into what makes Jekyll tick. Why do the bystanders choose to let them get out of control, as they battle to defeat the monstrous alter-ego inside?
Sarah Brigham (Artistic Director, Derby Theatre and Director, Jekyll and Hyde) said:
“I am thrilled to be once again co-producing with Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch. We share an ambition to bring brilliant theatre to local audiences to challenge, delight and entertain and I hope this production does just that.
This fresh new adaptation by Neil Bartlett gives audiences everything they expect from this well-known story, but also introduces three new space-taking female characters. It is these three women who drag the violence and secrecy of Hyde out from the shadows of the Victorian gentlemen’s club, into the light.
I’m delighted we have brought together a stellar cast to tell this classic tale, which will have a visceral and explosive feel wrapped up in the dark mystery of Victorian London on stage. The talented Nicholas Shaw takes the title role, but it really is an ensemble company who never leave the stage, as this pressure cooker of a play comes to its dramatic climax.”
Tickets are from £12.50 – £29 (plus 65p QNext fee); under 26s £8; schools £10 (one free teacher ticket with every 10 purchased). For more information and to book tickets, call the Box Office on 01708 443333 or online at www.queens-theatre.co.uk
