The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll And Mr Hyde At New Theatre, Cardiff Review
TICKETS TO SEE THE SHOW WERE GIFTED TO THE REVIEWER AND GUEST FOR THE PURPOSES OF WRITING THE REVIEW.
The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde is a tale that pretty much everyone in some degree is familiar with. I knew enough to know Mr Hyde was the creation of Dr Jekyll and the book is written by Robert Louis Stevenson but not much else so I was incredibly excited to get the chance to see it in New Theatre, Cardiff.
New Theatre is a lovely theatre with a welcoming atmosphere as soon as you reach the foyer. There is a bar both upstairs and downstairs which serves a great selection of wine, beer and spirits as well as a stall to buy ice cream and sweets from and you are able to buy your drinks in advance so they will be ready for you in the interval.
My seats were in the circle and had a lovely view of the stage, although all of the seats at New Theatre have a great view! There was no safety curtain when we arrived so you could see the set straight away. The set stays the same way for the entire play and depicts two wooden doors in a house with shelving in the middle. Considering the only thing that changes is the placement of chairs or the addition of a table it is amazing how many different locations the play takes place at. I also particularly loved the lighting and how it helped depict the mood of the characters.
There are only four characters in the entire play and they are Blake Kubena as Henry Jekyll/ Edward Hyde, Zach Lee as Gabriel Utterson, Paige Round as Eleanor O’Donnell and Ashley Sean-Cook as Hastings Lanyon. They all do an incredible job and I enjoyed how when telling parts of the story they would ‘become’ one of the characters they were talking about.
Eleanor O’Donnell is a character who doesn’t actually appear in the book and in this play is married to Hastings Lanyon but lusts after Henry Jekyll/ Edward Hyde which leads to an element of emotional friction between the two characters. I only found that Eleanor O’Donnell had been added in when I went to find out more about the plot after the play and was a bit disappointed by this as the Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson is such a classic story that I don’t feel it is necessary to add in any romantic storylines.
Parts of the play were brilliant and I loved seeing the transformation of Blake Kubena right in front of you turn from the sickly Dr Jekyll to the evil and violent Edward Hyde. Hearing Paige Round sing beautifully added another wonderful dimension to the play, but I did feel the whole play lacked the excitement and captivation that I was hoping for.
On a night when it is cold and miserable outside and the nights are getting colder, you could do much worse than spending an evening in such a wonderful venue watching this production.
Rating: 3/5
Tickets cost from £14.00 to £31.50 and there is no booking fee.
The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde is at New Theatre, Cardiff from Tuesday 9th November to Saturday 13th November 2021, for more information or to book tickets visit:
https://newtheatrecardiff.co.uk/Online/tickets-the-strange-case-of-dr-jekyll-and-mr-hyde-cardiff-2021 or call the box office on 0343 310 0041.
New Theatre, Park Place, Cardiff, CF10 3LN.