★★★✰✰
The dark, gothic atmosphere of Robert Louis Stevenson’s infamous novella The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde is perfectly captured in the opening moments of The National Theatre of Scotland’s adaptation. The digital stream begins in darkness. The tension builds with ominous footsteps and heavy breathing, followed by ear-piercing screams that signal the horror that is to come. Director Hope Dickson Leach sets the adaptation in the spooky, grand, Edinburgh Leith Theatre, harkening back to Stevenson’s Scottish roots. The directing and production maintain this eerie atmosphere with the black and white backdrop, even when the script occasionally falters.
One of the most engaging aspects of Leach’s reimagining is the slow corruption of the two lead characters. Utterson’s descent into a power-hungry, cruel bully at times overshadows Jekyll’s own transformation, with Lorn Macdonald’s expert display of conflicting emotion creating a mesmerising performance. The two leads mirror each other in a heart-breaking fashion, both seduced by power and led astray from their originally pure intentions. Their matching canes (a symbol of friendship in Utterson’s eyes, but an embarrassment for Jekyll) highlight their once identical morals, and serve as a Chekov’s gun in the most heart-breaking manner.
The stellar acting sustains the uneasy ambience, with Alison Peebles’ Poole a notable standout, always lurking at the edge of a scene, or providing ominous, confusing commentary for the audience to question. Henry Pettigrew’s contrasting performances of Jekyll and Hyde are equally fascinating, although Jekyll himself is a far less interesting character than expected, due to his arrogance and occasional snobbish treatment of Utterson. Macdonald’s Utterson is undoubtedly the star, with Leach using him to explore the brutal nature of Victorian capitalism. His initial horror at Hyde’s monstrosity makes his own callousness towards the treatment of the workers at Cowgate Vaults even more tragic, and at times we question whether Utterson is the “hero” of the story at all.
Although the acting, directing and cinematography are intriguing and captivating, the play stumbles around the third act. Whilst the end of Act Two is a haunting realisation of the depth of Utterson’s corruption through Caroline Deyga’s Mabel, the showdown between Utterson and Jekyll at the dinner table is slightly underwhelming and too long. Utterson is simply a more compelling tale of corruption, and the climax of the play feels inconclusive, if not bittersweet. In a tale of brutality and immorality, it would have been more impactful to see Utterson face consequences for his more despicable moments.
Ultimately, The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde nails the atmosphere of the novella, with the beautiful setting capturing Gothicism in a fascinating manner. Where the play falters is through its captivating depiction of Utterson, so much so that he can occasionally overshadow Jekyll in his own play.
Words by Emily Nutbean
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