Year 10 Jekyll and Hyde Theatre Trip
The audience sits, nervously anticipating the beginning of the show, all encapsulated by the red and patterned curtain, holding back a myriad of themes, ideas and emotions. The music rises and crescendos, leaving all audience members on the edge of their seats. The lights fade and the show commences…
A group of year 10 students visited the Orchard Theatre in Dartford on Wednesday 14th March to watch a live production of The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde having studied the text for several months as part of their English Literature GCSE. We entered the Orchard Theatre and were met by a large red curtain covering the stage, enabling tension to be built up instantly, which was only added to by the suspenseful music. We were positioned on the top level of the theatre, giving us a great view of the performance and how the characters were portrayed in theatre.
The performance itself was incredibly intriguing in its execution and how the plot was differed to extend the 50-page book into a 2-hour play. The introduction of Jekyll’s sister and her family was a very nice idea to deepen the meaning of Henry Jekyll eventual death at the end of the play, with the reactions of his nephew and niece making the scene even more emotional than it had been previously. Phil Daniels’ impersonation and change of character between Henry Jekyll and Edward Hyde represent his two personas and the way Daniels portrays this and indicated the change emphasised his quality in the role and how well he performed in that role.
The use of singing and large red lights (indicating danger) between the scenes was very effective in terms of building tension and intimidating the audience, as the sound and lights seemed to grow louder and brighter as the scene changed happened, trapping your head in a box of light and sound that you couldn’t escape, only adding to the theatre experience.
However, one strange twist in the performance was the use of a Scottish accent by Daniels while in the role of Hyde which was intriguing as neither the character nor the actor was Scottish, which I and many others found interesting to say the least.
In terms of English, the play was good as it included all of the different quotations we learnt in class in a more memorable context, allowing us to remember them more easily. The experience enabled us to remember key moments and sections in a more creative and representational way than the book could do.
Our experience watching The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde at the Orchard Theatre was an incredibly rewarding experience, not only allowing us to interpret a text we had studied but be enwrapped in a world of theatre that had been created from that text, enabling us to imagine that text more easily. The play opened our imagination to how a book can be performed on the stage and how it can effectively be portrayed in a manner that is entertaining for an audience and allows us to now use this experience and the knowledge we have gained in our own writing.