Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde

Gabriel Utterson is a lawyer drawn into a mystery of horrific brutality from an unknown man known as Mr Hyde, that is inextricably wrapped up with his old friends, particularly the well-regarded Doctor Henry Jekyll. Even if you haven’t read the original Robert Louis Stevenson story, it’s likely you’re familiar with the concept – and I wish I didn’t know the story, because the twists of this clever adaptation would have hit home even harder.

This is theatre. And cinema. Apparently the genre is ‘cine-theatre’, which sounds not nearly as creative as it actually is. From the same pedigree and team as last year’s Adelaide Festival smash The Picture of Dorian Gray, this is an enthralling mesh of breathtaking performance from two fine actors (Matthew Backer and Ewen Leslie) and just as stunning, the performance of the live video crew, who capture close-ups of Backer and Leslie, which are then combined with pre-recorded footage and displayed on enormous, roving screens. And sometimes even this marvellous combination of art and technology is outdone by the incredible score from composer Clemence Williams and atmospheric sound design from Michael Toisuta. The emotional pull from what we’re seeing, hearing, and feeling, is brilliantly overwhelming.

Director Kip Williams has adapted Stevenson’s classic Gothic novel to be a magnificent presentation of how technology used right can uplift the art of live performance to new levels. From the promotional images, you’d think that these huge camera rigs would obscure the actors’ performances – but once you get used to their presence, they essentially disappear, the smooth movements of the camera operators are an invisible but significant contributor to the art we witness through the actors on stage, and then again, on the screens. Their movements are as perfectly choreographed as Williams moves his actors – and they all must be in sync for this to work as well as it does.

The dialogue itself is tremendous: delivered at a breakneck pace for almost two hours without pause, with Backer taking most of the words. His monologues – at times, dialogues, though with himself – show a vulnerable, emotional man beneath his staid, lawyer face. The anxiety and uncertainty he offers to the lens when staring at an unopened letter is broadcast clearly to the audience.

Leslie might have fewer words, but he carries the weight of the rest of the characters, appearing as both Jekyll and Hyde - sometimes, at the same time, cleverly and almost seamlessly using pre-recorded footage overlaid with what’s being performed live. But Leslie takes on the characterisations of so many others that you start to think he must have a twin. He is at least two doctors, two butlers, and a member of parliament – and every one of them is distinct in physicality and voice.

Again, the technology supports, rather than replaces the live performances: switching from video of one to the live performance of the other, and then back again. What starts as a single projection in its own right, grows to become several different surfaces. Each shows a different angle, or a mirror of one already there; or a corner of a building, a blending of faces – or in one jaw-dropping spectacular moment, a vast staircase that strides from the lower corner of the stage to its opposite upper one. The video design by David Bergman is beautifully painted across the stage and blended in real time to be a work of art in itself. The monochrome for most of the video is entirely fitting – and when the colour punches through, it is used to exaggerate the emotions and challenge things we thought we already understood.

The bringing together of video, music, sound, and live performance is superbly executed, utterly captivating for the senses, and leaves us breathless by the end. The bows deservedly included both actors and the full live technical crew, the standing ovation just as much for the camera operators. This is a hugely exciting piece of theatre – and cinema – and it’s a privilege to be in an audience to share this experience.

Mark Wickett

Photographer: Daniel Boud

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