Jekyll & Hyde 2006, Derby Assembly Rooms
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A FINE BOGEY TALE....

At Halloween we are traditionally confronted by young witches and wizards carrying out ‘trick or treat’ requests - the themes depicted are GOOD and EVIL. Derby Opera Company took audiences further into this theme to explore the dualities of ‘civilised and primitive’, ‘joy and despair’ in their highly praised production of 'Jekyll & Hyde'.

An evocative tale of the epic battle between good and evil, 'Jekyll & Hyde' is based on Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic story about a brilliant doctor whose experiments with human personality create a murderous counterpart. Convinced the cure for his father’s mental illness lies in the separation of man’s evil nature from his good, and refused any help by his peers and superiors, Dr. Henry Jekyll develops a formula and begins to experiment on himself. He unwittingly unleashes his own dark side, wreaking havoc in the streets of late 19th century London by murdering those who had refused to help Jekyll, as the savage, maniacal Edward Hyde. Nigel Taylor made his debut as the Director of our main production, after successfully producing our annual concerts for the last few years.

This was a rousing Gothic musical and pure pulse pounding theatre. It had the same macabre combination of fin and fright that fuels such classics as 'Sweeney Todd' and 'The Phantom of the Opera' and a lush, romantic pop score that includes 'This Is The Moment' which Michael Ball made such a memorable, powerful classic song. Other songs that you will know include ‘In His Eyes’, ‘Someone Like You’ and ‘Take Me As I Am’. The show featured a trio of star-making roles in Dr. Jekyll, his sympathetic fiancée Emma and Lucy, the woman he rescues from a life of sin who later succumbs to the uncontrolled passions of Mr. Hyde. Both David Hasseihoff (Baywatch, Knight Rider) and Paul Nicholas (Just Good Friends, Cats) have played the title role... Andrew Booth had the formidable task of portraying the duality of Dr Jekyll for DOC with support from Lynn Nelson (Lucy), Becky Walihead (Emma Carew), Martin Peacock (Utterson) and Paul Kirkland (Sir Danvers Carew).