Notes:

Dramatising Dr. J. And Mr. H. Is not an easy task. A Dickens’ story has a whole range of characters of both sexes to choose from and a great deal of usable direct speech. Stevenson gives us a story that is not in chronological order, has little direct speech and few characters, all of which are male. Add to this the Hollywood convention that Jekyll and Hyde are played by the same actor and you have too many constraints to make a balanced play that can be tackled by any group of actors, amateur or professional.

So this script is not a true dramatisation but a drama based on the events in Stevenson’s tale with additions to the original plot and  some extra characters to produce a play that is easy to stage, though not confined to a single box set, spreads the dialogue to avoid a mpnster one-actor part and balances up the male and female roles.

The general public come with an expectation that Jekyll and Hyde will be played by the same actor and, indeed, this may well be part of the attraction. How will  the transformation from Jekyll to Hyde be achieved? Splitting the parts may to some extent, lesson the play’s appeal but this loss is, in my opinion, far out-weighed by the gains. For many groups split-second character changes on stage (or off) are fraught with problems and almost certainly likely to go wrong, thus turning a drama into a farce..

Also, there is no justification in Stevenson’s original story for a single actor to play both roles. Stevenson describes Hyde as being quite different from Jekyll in figure, appearance and voice. Add to this, that it is often difficult for some groups to find an actor willing to commit to a part as big as the combined role would have to be and there is more than enough justification for two  separate, substantial roles rather than one exceptionally large one.

The premiere production was presented in June 09 and was featured in the Aug. 09 edition of  the Amateur Stage  Magazine.