This Friday, Blackeyed Theatre’s critically acclaimed production of The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde will be performed live to a socially distanced audience at the Wilde Theatre in Bracknell, Berkshire, as well as being streamed live and on demand.

This production marks the first show back at the Wilde Theatre since March, prior to lockdown.

The title roles of Henry Jekyll and Edward Hyde will be played by Blake Kubena (Vikings, History Channel; Othello, Alabama Shakespeare Festival; All’s Well that Ends Well, Minack Theatre). Other performers reprising their roles from the 2017 production will be Zach Lee (Bouncers, Glass Menagerie, Hull Truck; The Derby McQueen Affair, York Theatre Royal; Treasure Island, Harrogate Theatre) as Gabriel Utterson, Paige Round (Hurling Rubble at the Moon, Park Theatre; Nobody, Hanyong Theatre/National Theatre Company of Korea) as Eleanor Lanyon and Ashley Sean-Cook (Frankenstein, Blackeyed Theatre; The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, Children’s Touring Partnership; Might Never Happen, King’s Head) as Hastings Lanyon.

The production has been adapted from Robert Louis Stevenson’s novella by Nick Lane (who draws from his own personal experiences), with original music composed by Tristan Parkes, set design by Victoria Spearing, costumes by Naomi Gibbs and lighting by Claire Childs.

Nick Lane said: “In this chaotic period in our history, the arts serve as an oasis of peace and I'm absolutely delighted to be working with Blackeyed again to bring autumn chills down the spines of any audience member with Jekyll and Hyde. It's a timeless story that we've put into historical context, adding detail that will intrigue people who know the novel and those coming to it fresh”.

Artistic Director of Blackeyed Theatre, Adrian McDougall, said: “We’ve been working towards getting Jekyll & Hyde back on stage for many months now, and there have been times when it’s been touch and go. But I’m really pleased we can finally get back into the rehearsal room and create some great theatre for a live audience. As well as producing something new and exciting for a public online audience, it means we can add Jekyll & Hyde to our online library of syllabus-related work, and we’ll be creating lots of educational content to accompany the show for our schools audience. In the meantime, we continue to plan to welcome live audiences to the live tour later in the year”.

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