Book and Lyrics: Leslie Bricusse
Music: Frank Wildhorn
Writer: Robert Louis Stevenson
Co-Directors: Jak Spencer & Thomas Freeman
Musical Director: Iris Burlacu
Even though it has no drama course, the University of Oxford has a long tradition of producing future stars of 
film, television and the stage. It is creditable that the university supports student drama by working with the Oxford Playhouse to provide regular opportunities for students to mount productions in a major professional venue and to support them financially and practically through the process. Jekyll and Hyde is the latest of these endeavours and it is clear that the students have worked hard over the past months to bring this musical to the stage.
Part of student theatre is to learn what works and what does not. It is a safe space in which to experiment and to develop your understanding of how shows come together. One clear success of this production is the casting.
The central role is demanding vocally, physically and dramatically. It requires technique and stamina that would challenge many trained professionals. In Tristan Simon Hood, the production has found an accomplished and talented performer who is more than capable of meeting those challenges. He is a singer of more than considerable skill and should he wish to pursue a career on stage rather than in the legal profession, it is hard to imagine that he not find success.
Imogen Bowden makes a similarly impressive contribution as Lucy. She has a strong voice and an innate understanding of how to put over a song. She might want to explore how to carry over her acting accent into her singing to give a more complete performance. That said, she stands out as having huge potential.
Indeed, the cast is full of committed young performers who clearly love musical theatre and want to share that joy with audiences.
One of the other strengths of the production is the pit band of seventeen talented musicians under the baton of Iris Burlacu. At times slightly too prominent in the sound mix, the orchestral playing is confident and accomplished. We are living through a time where theatre bands are shrinking to single figures for most productions and to have this rich, lavish sound is a joy.
There have to be reasons why Jekyll and Hyde has never had a professional West End production in the 35 years since it was first created. While it has toured, it has yet to find a producer willing to take a chance on the piece in the West End. Those reasons are, sadly, the book, lyrics and the score itself. The book is overextended with some very clunky dialogue and, crucially, it lacks a satisfying dramatic arc. The lyrics are simplistic and frequently fail to rise above the predictable. And, most fatally, the music is overburdened with bland ballads and tunes that sound more like pastiches of songs from more successful musicals.
With a show with some self-evident weaknesses, it falls to the directors to try to shape the material as best they can into something that works for their audiences. There is no doubting the passion Jak Spencer and Thomas Freeman have for musical theatre having worked on a number of other projects but they have been unable to find solutions to the issues in the material itself.
They have still worked with their creative teams to deliver some striking stage moments and have shaped some noteworthy performances from the principal cast. So this will have been a positive learning experience from which all involved can take much credit as well as some valuable lessons.
Ultimately the cast is hampered by the material and without a complete rewrite of the show, there is probably very little that the production team, for all their laudable ambition, could have done to overcome the weaknesses inherent in the material. Next time, it is to be hoped that they choose a better piece of musical theatre with which to showcase their talent, passion and potential.
Runs until 1 March 2025
