Writer: Evan Placey, based on the novella by Robert Louis Stevenson Director: Tessa Walker Reviewer: Selwyn Knight We all feel we already know the story of Robert Louis Stevenson’s Jekyll and Hyde after countless adaptations of its central story – had the word been coined in 1886, one might even have described it as an early meme. But one feature of ...
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Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde – Darlington Hippodrome
Adaptor: David Edgar Director: Kate Saxon Reviewer: Mark Clegg Like its Gothic horror stable-mates Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and Bram Stoker’s Dracula, Robert Louis Stevenson’s The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde is both immediately familiar and strangely unknown to the general public. All three sets of characters are part of popular culture and yet the vast majority of ...
Read More »Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde – King’s Theatre, Edinburgh
Writer: David Edgar From the novel by: Robert Louis Stevenson Director: Kate Saxon Reviewer: Gareth Davies There is much that sends shivers of terror down the spine from this touring production of David Edgar’s adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic novella. The original story almost single-handedly created the genre of psychological horror, but perhaps the scariest thing here is the ...
Read More »Treasure Island – The New Vic, Newcastle-under-Lyme
Writer: Robert Louis Stevenson Adaptor and director: Theresa Heskins Reviewer: Jay Nuttall Artistic director Theresa Heskins writes in her programme notes that after consultation with focus groups of children as to what should be on their stage at Christmas the overwhelming consensus involved pirates, treasure and fights. And so, bowing to popular opinion, Treasure Island is in full production as ...
Read More »The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde – The Majestic Theatre, Darlington
Writer & Director: Nick Lane Based on the novella by: Robert Louis Stevenson Reviewer: Mark Clegg Despite the titular character(s) being thoroughly ingrained in popular culture, and the phrase “Jekyll & Hyde” entering common parlance as a way of describing someone displaying erratic behaviour, it’s surprising how few people are familiar with the actual story of Robert Louis Stevenson’s most ...
Read More »Treasure Island – The HOUSE, Birmingham REP
Writer: Bryony Lavery, from the book by Robert Louis Stevenson Director: Phillip Breen Reviewer: Selwyn Knight As Robert Louis Stevenson said of Treasure Island, “it [is] a story for boys … women were excluded”, and its cast of characters certainly bears that out. But history also tells us that 18th-century women did do physical work and were even pirates. It ...
Read More »The Devil Inside – Lawrence Batley Theatre, Huddersfield
Composer: Stuart Macrae Libretto: Louise Welsh Conductor: Michael Rafferty Director: Matthew Richardson Reviewer: Ron Simpson Co-commissioned by Music Theatre Wales and Scottish Opera, The Devil Inside received its premiere performance in Glasgow in January to an overwhelmingly favourable response from reviewers. Now it is on a short UK tour with Music Theatre Wales. The Devil Inside is inspired by one ...
Read More »The Devil Inside – The Sherman Theatre, Cardiff
Director: Matthew Richardson Writer: Stuart Macrae Reviewer: Beth Steer Based on the tale The Bottle Imp by Robert Louis Stevenson, The Devil Inside is a Faustian folk story that takes place, jarringly, in the 21st Century. The Music Theatre Wales’ production is a modern day opera, comprised of seven scenes, that combines the mythical, the allegorical and the contemporary. ...
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