STRANGE CASE OF DR JEKYLL AND MR HYDE
Upstairs at the Gatehouse
★★★★
“Hyland pulls out all the stops of horror to bring us a must-see play”
The stage is shrouded in dark, hung with black curtains, a wooden lectern in a spotlight the sole prop. Already we, the audience, know we are in for a sinister hour in the presence of one of the towering characters of Victorian gothic horror. Actually two characters, of course.
On to the stage strides Dr Jekyll (pronounce that ‘Jeekyll’, we are immediately instructed). He approaches the lectern, about to deliver a lecture on the duality of mankind and his frustrated attempts to find a cure that will relieve the sufferings of evil doers. He has argued with the medical establishment over a potion which – he believes – will provide relief to split personalities. Prevented from experimentation on patients, to prove his point, he has self-administered. We are about to hear the outcomes and lessons of his experiments.
One of the great pleasures of watching a familiar story unfold, is that you don’t have to work out what is happening: you can just sit back and enjoy the show. And what a show this is. James Hyland – writer, actor, producer and founder of Brother Wolf productions – himself has a towering on-stage presence. Switching rapidly – and shockingly – between Jekyll, his alter ego Hyde, the innocent victims of the experiment and the upright associates of his profession, Hyland gives us an outstanding physical performance. He writhes, twists and spasms. He straightens to resume his lecture then collapses into a crippled heap of distorted anatomy to seek out another victim. His contortions scare and shock. He swings the lectern out to become a bench, a bier and a body. Finally, he paces to and fro, directly addressing the front row of the audience (I was glad I had chosen to sit at the back, for once), shape-shifting then confronting us with our own worldly intentions and the unwitting evil we all hide. He withdraws out of the spotlight, back into the black.
This is not an hour for the faint-hearted. It is a dark play in a dark setting, with a dark message. At one point some members of the audience screamed – a tribute to a master. There are a few moments of humour, although the laughter is more a relief from tension than due to anything truly comic.
Under the direction of Phil Lowe and with sinister musical interludes by Chris Warner (admittedly I was so wound up that I didn’t fully notice these) Hyland pulls out all the stops of horror to bring us a must-see play for those who enjoy grim revelations brought home. There is evil nesting in us all, if only we could see it.
STRANGE CASE OF DR JEKYLL AND MR HYDE
Upstairs at the Gatehouse
Reviewed on 9th February 2026
by Louise Sibley
