If the franchise hadn’t fallen out of favour, then the classic story of Jekyll and Hyde would surely have, eventually, gotten the Carry On treatment. Sadly, it didn’t, but Danny Wainwright and Daniel Hallissey’s production at The Pleasance is probably as close as we’ll get.
In fairness, it’s more of a fruity mix of Carry On, Monty Python and numerous other examples of Great British satire, all rolled into one, and much like the effects of Dr Jekyll’s serum, we never really know which side we’ll see next.
The story, known around the world, gets a modest injection of modernity, with a few well-placed references to Trump; “Build that well” and “Make London great again”. Keeping the setting in cholera ridden London though, keeps the story arch before veering substantially from Robert Louis Stevenson’s original version.
Heavily laden with innuendo, raising quite a few titters from the audience, Jekyll and Hyde borrows heavily from other sources, some of the lines are lifted directly from songs, we spotted everything from Chumbawamba to Wicked in there. Also, classic sitcoms; Victoria Wood’s Two Soups and the Two Ronnie’s Class sketch get a loving nod. The show seems to throw everything at the wall to see what sticks. And there’s plenty that does, it doesn’t take itself too seriously at all, and that makes it wonderful fun because the audience is very much made to feel in on the joke.
The cast of four, get it spot on with a frenetic energy running right through the play. Andrew Venning as John Utterson plays it completely straight, which of course makes him even funnier. Elliott Ross plays so many characters that even he loses track (on purpose), in a hilarious over the top style. Alyssa Noble as Martha and Graham Elwell as Jekyll/Hyde complete the cast.
Perhaps more at home on a smaller stage, Jekyll and Hyde has been cleverly directed by Danny Wainwright in the larger setting of The Pleasance main house. Some of the jokes may fall a little flat but many more hit their target and provides the audience with a great evening of bawdy fun.
