Students in Years 9, 10 and 11 were recently treated to a fantastic production of Robert Louis Stevenson’s chilling shocker – Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.

The classic Victorian horror was retold by a small group of actors to an amazed audience at Blacon High School.

Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde tells the story of a well-to-do doctor who is serious about Science. He is interested in the duality of man: the fact that we all have a good and evil side. He makes a potion to try to engage with his evil side, but it goes wrong and he ends up beating and murdering people as his alter-ego: Mr Hyde.

The group was made up of just 4 actors; one took on the parts of both Jekyll and Hyde. We all thought this was an amazing skill as, not only was he credible as both characters, but he also made it clear which character he was portraying at any one time. A female actor took on the role of Robert Louis Stevenson’s wife who narrated the whole story in a very convincing American accent.

The performance set was minimal yet spectacular as the group used very few elements to create their scenes. Chairs indicated which actors were on and offstage and were also moved to indicate a change in scene. Costumes were donned by the actors to show which character they were – Mr Hyde had a horrifying sack to cover his repulsive face!

Overall, it was a fantastic performance: the actors were skilled, the script true to the original story and the costumes made it come alive. Seeing the play really enhanced students’ understanding of the novel.