Theatre review: Jekyll and Hyde

Jekyll and HydeThe Edinburgh Playhouse * * *

Jekyll and Hyde inhabits two cheek by jowl worlds. There's the world of the salubrious New Town gentry and there's a world of whores and the thieves who spend their nights in the seamy drinking dens that litter the back streets of the Old Town. Transpose this to Victorian London and you have, in essence, Robert Louis Stevenson's notorious novella.

Jekyll and Hyde the musical not so much inhabits two worlds as two stages. On one stage is star Marti Pellow, alternating between refined, tortured Dr Jekyll and dangerous alter ego Mr Hyde (mostly by the cunning use of a cape and some dishevelled hair). For anyone half way through Jon Ronson's latest book, The Psychopath Test, the handling of Hyde will bring forth fervent pondering on the influence Dr Jekyll's drugs must be having on the Amygdala. The rest of us will simply assume that the serum Jekyll experiments on himself with sends him pure bonkers and into a sinister killing spree.

Pellow's vocal performance is measured and engaging as he comfortably belts out several impressive solos, including This Is The Moment, even if his husky RP slips too often into New Town telephone voice.

Yet Pellow is either alone on stage during vital turning points or murdering and violating people, which makes for a jarring transition when other actors interact with him.

In fact, there are times when it seems as if the rest of the cast are playing out the darker bits of a jovial Cockney singalong rather than exploring the human psyche. But the score does the cast very few favours in this respect, many of the songs feeling like they'd been dropped in from another musical.

Putting in a valiant performance as lady of the night Lucy, Sabrina Carter's feisty performance manages to marry many dubious elements of the plot together with confidence and sass. Her love rival Emma (Sarah Earnshaw) also handles her vocals and role with aplomb. If only they'd spend time duetting with Pellow.

Run ends June 25