Famous French* company A Slightly Isolated Dog (so French, so famous) is back with Jekyll & Hyde. It’s about a very good man – Dr Jekyll – who indulges his very bad side – Mr Hyde – by drinking a potion. Only it’s not long before he doesn’t need to drink the potion for his dark side to come out…

The five performers Louis, Lily, Juli, Phillipe, and Ginger (Samuel Austin, Susie Berry, Andrew Paterson, Jonathan Price and Comfrey Sanders) playfully greet us before enter the theatre space. They’re building a relationship with us and finding out who would be party to their games. That’s one of the joys of this show – the way the audience are drawn into helping tell the story. The cast ensure everyone gets close to the action at some stage. At times they are directly addressing a section of the audience. This can get confusing as several different stories are developed and shared but the style highlights the themes they are exploring – busyness of contemporary life, anxieties and problems that plague us and how to deal with them. The characters of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde are played by the cast while the rest of us get to be discarded lovers, doctors, passersby, public sculptures, orphans, factory workers, props, and the environment.

Chaotic fun if you’re happy to be part of the action.

* Made up of Wellington actors

  • Jekyll and Hyde on at Circa Theatre to 11 February 2017 (They’re also showing Don Juan on at Circa Theatre 4,7,9 & 10 February 2017)