It's not often these days that a proper play gets the opportunity to tread the boards of the Wyvern Theatre's stage, so it's always nice when a production like The Strange Case Of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde comes around.

There's nothing wrong with the Wyvern's bread and butter offering of musical theatre, one-night shows and comedy but nothing can match that unique theatrical atmosphere of a well-acted play and thankfully Nick Lane's adaption of the iconic Robert Louis Stevenson fantasy was more than up for offering some atmosphere. 

The staging was stripped back, the movement of a few tables and chairs were all that was needed to signify a change of location, all with a shambling backdrop of furniture that wouldn't be out of place in a haunted house, stacked on top of each other to form a barrier, and doors. 

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Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde is one of the more famous works of literature in the UK, telling the story of a crippled scientist who unwittingly transforms into great evil, and it certainly nails some of the more horrifying elements. One pre-interview slow-motion murder was especially striking. 

We're introduced to Dr Jekyll, his lawyer Gabriel who is trying to investigate Mr Hyde, old acquaintance Hastings Lanyon and Hastings' wife Eleanor, who in a twist from Stevenson's original story, falls in love with Jekyll leading to disastrous consequences. 

The four actors inhabit these main roles as well as fill in for other extras that are needed throughout the story, like prostitutes, servants, police officers and other friends. All of them are fantastic, but as the titular character, it's Blake Kubena's show. 

He's a suave and dashing figure who swiftly inhabits both the decrepit and lowly Jekyll and the fearsome and monstrous Hyde. There's very little in the way of clothing or practical effects to signify the change between the two so it rests solely on Kubena's performance and he shifts between them really well. 

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Another great element to the play was the way it invoked atmosphere and foreboding, it had a great mixture of taped and onstage music and sound effects and it colour-washed the stage with reds and greens depending on what was happening.  

There were some confusing elements to the story where it wasn't immediately clear exactly where we were supposed to be in the story, and as the actors weren't mic'd it was a little hard to hear in parts, particularly when music was playing through the speakers. 

But, ultimately it was a great show that successfully captured the horror of an old-classic and brought it to a modern audience.