NTS go hybrid in Leith
Hybrid Jekyll and Hyde for Leith Theatre
A hybrid production of The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde is to be staged by the National Theatre of Scotland in Leith Theatre in February 2022, with live-streaming to cinemas and an edited version on Sky Arts in 2023.
Tickets are available now from the NTS Website for the live staging in Leith Theatre, with a limited number of free tickets (suggested donation £20) for the three performances from Friday 25 to Sunday 27 February at 7pm.
Jekyll & Hyde publicity image. Pic: Laurence Winram
The production is conceived and directed by Hope Dickson Leach, who co-wrote it with Vlad Butucea. It is based on Robert Louis Stevenson’s novella about Gabriel Utterson who enters a world of dark duplicity to uncover the identity of the mysterious Mr Hyde and the hold he has over Utterson’s old friend Dr Jekyll.
Dickson Leach has moved the setting from London to Victorian Edinburgh, where the wealth of the breweries is contrasted with the poverty of the Cowgate Vaults, exposing an underbelly of dark truths and corruption.
Bewitched by the society of Edinburgh’s rich and powerful, Utterson soon discovers that behind the glossy façade of power there is a grim and brutal reality – in a reworking of the story for a contemporary audience which the NTS says the themes of power, class and masculinity are brought to the fore.
backstage maze
During the live performances in February, audiences will put on headsets and watch the drama unfold live on a large screen in the auditorium, while the venue’s backstage maze of rooms and hallways will be transformed into film set location scenes of Victorian Edinburgh.
The performance on Sunday 27 February 2022 will be live stream to selected Scottish cinemas, while in the week from Monday 28 February an ‘As live’ streaming will go out to UK cinemas. An edited feature film version of the recorded footage will be broadcast on Sky Arts in the Autumn of 2023.
Hope Dickson Leach
Hope Dickson Leach said: “Jekyll and Hyde is a masterpiece by one of Scotland’s best storytellers deserving of a groundbreaking and challenging interpretation.
“What better tale to explore hybrid storytelling?
“Working with the National Theatre of Scotland to create this innovative piece has not only allowed me to collaborate with some of the most talented theatre and film makers in Scotland, but also to explore the narrative and formal questions that inspire me as an artist.”
The NTS say that the live production will offer audiences the opportunity to experience a film being created around them, gaining insight into the theatre and filmmaking process.
As a gothic tale of double lives and inner demons, the storyline is mirrored in the hybrid format of the production while, to embrace the duality of the storyline and provide period authenticity, the film will be shot in black and white.
Listings
The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde
Leith Theatre, 28-30 Ferry Rd, EH6 4AE
Friday 25 – Sunday 27 February 2022
Evenings: 7pm.
Tickets and details: Book here.
Live stream to selected Scottish cinemas
Sunday 27 February 2022
Details to be announced.
As-live streaming to UK cinemas
Mon 28 Feb – Sat 5 March 2022
Details to be announced.
Broadcast of edited film
Sky Arts Autumn 2022.
Details to be announced.
Leith Theatre main hall. Pic: Paul Hollingwood
ENDS
