Slick double act makes for a killer of a performance

Published on Friday 1 October 2004 12:32

Jekyll & Hyde ***

Brunton Theatre

ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON’S classic tale of split personality has never been out of print since originally published 118 years ago. The first draft was burned by his wife, leaving the writer - seriously ill with tuberculosis - three days to rewrite the 30,000 words.

But the agony was worth it. Stevenson was able to pay off his creditors, and gifted the world with one of the best stories ever written. And it is to Mull Theatre’s credit they did his novella justice.

Determined to discover a cure for insanity, Dr Henry Jekyll attempts to isolate the elements of good and evil that struggle within each human being. Using himself as a human guinea pig, the experiment ends in disaster, transforming him into his alter ego - the homicidal Edward Hyde.

To demonstrate this vast contrast in characters, two actors - one young, one old - are used. Alan Steele, nominated for The Stage Best Actor Award at the Fringe, is perfectly cast as the charming and elegant Dr Jekyll while Kevin Lennon, as deranged Edward Hyde, adds a dash of comedy to his otherwise evil identity.

The themes - vanity, hedonism, deception - are handled carefully and intelligently. The Scots dialect, although thick, is well projected; the characters, utterly watchable.

Of the highlights, the metamorphosis scene is created via a well-disguised table. Blink and you’ll miss the quick switch of actors. However, the all-wooden stage set - an odd-looking structure - is perhaps a reference to Jekyll and Hyde’s real-life counterpart, Deacon Brodie, a gifted woodworker and respected Edinburgh gentleman by day and burglar by night.

All in all a commendable show from one of Scotland’s most popular touring theatre companies.

• Run ends tomorrow