A Derby Theatre and Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch Co-Production
Adapted by Neil Bartlett from the iconic classic by Robert Louis Stevenson. Directed by Sarah Brigham
POST SHOW EDUCATION PACK
Contents
2 Contents
3
The production
4
About this pack
5
First impressions
6
Rehearsal interviews
8
Interview with Jessica Curtis
12
Design Analysis
22
Using the production to prepare for the English Literature exam
24
Scene extracts
A Derby Theatre and Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch Co-Production
Adapted by Neil Bartlett from the iconic classic by Robert Louis Stevenson. Directed by Sarah Brigham
The Production 3
About this pack Resource pack by Carolyn Bradley If you have any questions about this resource pack or how to use it, please contact Caroline Barth at c.barth@derby.ac.uk
This pack is designed for teachers, GCSE Drama students and GCSE English students who may be watching Jekyll and Hyde in preparation for the live theatre section of the GCSE Drama written exam, or the English Literature exam. This is the post-show pack and is designed to be used after watching the production, to provide specific key details on moments from the live production that students may want to explore. The pre-show education pack can be used to help students understand the context of the story, themes and concept behind the production. In this pack, there are suggested activities and prompt questions to help engage students in the production design for GCSE Drama, and tasks which compare the production to the novel for English students.
4 About this pack
First impressions It can be really useful to have a general discussion about the production as soon as possible after seeing it, to start generating responses and to encourage students to formulate opinions. Here are some ways you might want to approach this, although you might want to adapt your approach to suit a GCSE Drama or English focus:
1. Start with a general discussion, asking students what they liked, aspects they remembered, how it made them feel. These overall evaluative responses can be useful for the GCSE Drama exam. You could put students in small groups and ask them to feedback or have a whole class discussion. Here’s some prompt questions to structure the discussion: • • • • • • • • • •
What did you think of the production? What were the most memorable moments and why? How did you feel about the character of Jekyll and how did this change? Which characters did you feel sympathy for and why? Which character(s) did you warm to and why? Which moments made you jump? Which moments made you laugh? Which moments made you feel nervous, chilled or scared? Which performers were you impressed with and why? What was the message you were left with at the end of the production?
2. You could then return to the themes of the production explained in the pre-show pack, which are: duality, science and religion, Victorian morality, gender and the patriarchy, and class. Put students in groups and ask them to make a mind map of each moment in the production which conveyed that theme on stage. This is a good recall task for the students, and also helps consolidate their understanding of the themes in the novel.
3. I f studying the play for the Drama Live Theatre section of the written exam, you might now want to zoom in on particular aspects of the production: Set up large pieces of paper around the room, labelling each one with an aspect of the production – lighting, sound, set, costume, acting. Then put students into small groups and ask them to rotate around the room, spending 5 minutes at each ‘station’ and adding all the detail they can remember about the use of each skill at particular moments. This is another useful recall task and also makes a good revision exercise. 4. I f studying the play for the English Literature exam, it could be useful to ask students to consider the differences between the play and the novel. Ask students to make a table and compare similarities and differences. They could compare differences in structure, timeline, characterisation, and plot. This will help them remember the aspects of the novel for the exam. 5. W riting a theatre review: After this initial lesson, set students a homework task of writing a full theatre review of the production. They can see examples of theatre reviews online. Their theatre review should include specific details of the lighting, set, sound, costume and acting, and should give an evaluative comment and an overall opinion.
First impressions 5
Rehearsal interviews
Omar, Deborah & Sarah – Full interview
6 Rehearsal interviews
Robert, Nicholas & Polly – Full interview
Tife, Hilary & Craig – Full interview
Levi, James & Charlie – Full interview
Rehearsal interviews 7
An interview with Jessica Curtis Designer, Jessica Curtis, talks about the process of designing the set and costume for Jekyll and Hyde:
WHAT ATMOSPHERE DID YOU WANT TO CREATE WITH THIS PRODUCTION? Neil’s amazing script asks us to take the audience into different atmospheres: disturbing and disorientating streets that are dark and murky, forensic spaces that are quite formal, exposing and a little intimidating, like the space where Dr Stephenson takes her Hippocratic oath and qualifies as a Doctor, and some rich and luxurious, very male dominated spaces that feel like a Victorian Private Members club. Talking to Sarah, our director, we felt the design needed to give us a clear feeling for the late Victorian period to put us in a specific society and class structure. I thought that a space that was quite ordered and rigid, with a built-in hierarchy would be a good counterpoint for more violent and uncontrolled movement and chaos. We need to give the audience the chilling suspense that I think they might expect as well as a few unexpected twists. WHAT WERE YOUR INITIAL IDEAS FOR THE FEEL OF THE PLAY AND HOW DID YOU DEVELOP THESE THROUGH YOUR DESIGN? Neil gave us a strong sense of the kind of spaces that had inspired his vision – the Victorian operating theatres of the time – these spaces encapsulated all of the themes in the play (moral and societal hierarchies, scientific endeavour) as well as having visual echoes of boxing rings, law courts, music halls and lecture theatres. 8
I feel that it is always important to try and understand and respect both the writer and director’s intention – what it is they are saying – so as to interpret that truthfully on stage. In this case Neil was very specific about what kind of space he had imagined as he wrote this adaptation so we followed his lead. I gather a lot of visual research – from painters and photographers mainly – some contemporary and some of the period. I began to play with versions of these tiered spaces in the model box and by drawing in my sketchbook. I thought a lot about texture, materials and colour as well as the two theatres this set would appear in. I adapted and changed these models in response to the thoughts of the rest of the team and we found the version that I then went on to present to the wider team. WHAT WERE YOUR AIMS FOR THE SET DESIGN AND HOW WERE THESE REALISED? My aims (in no particular order) were: To create a space that supported the telling of the story practically and atmospherically. That involved sharing and discussing images, models and ideas with all our collaborators – the director, lighting and sound designers and choreographer. We would think about very practical things like how the actors could access props and costumes, where microphones could be on the set and on their bodies, how deep the stairs could be and how wide the gaps might be between
the railings, where light sources might be positioned and what quality they might have – these sorts of discussions go on all the way through the process! To create a space sustainably. This involved discussions and lots of questions, mainly between the two production managers and construction teams about the most sustainable way to realise the design – could we re-use any materials and focus on hiring materials? Can we cut down on the journeys that materials, people and built objects take? What happens to the set once the show is complete – can we salvage or recycle anything? To make the transfer between to venues as smooth as possible. This is about comparing the two spaces and trying to make the design work equally well in both – embedding lights and masking, prop and costume storage, access and exit points into the set structure so that the actors and crew do not have to radically change what they have rehearsed from venue to venue.
There is also a desk to the side that belongs to Dr Stevenson. She can return here – to her room at the office at any time, and it reminds us that her investigation is always ongoing as the notes and evidence she gathers mount up. Specific bits of furniture help us to show the audience where we are – for example, a hospital trolley and a bed show us when we are in the ward with a patient, and a blackboard puts us into a solicitors’ office. We don’t want to spend a lot of time changing the scenery from place to place – this is a fast-moving energetic script and we don’t want to interrupt that flow. It is important that every new object earns its keep by telling us something about the scene or being part of an action that helps keep the story going. Other elements – chairs for example, can be more neutral and it becomes the actors’ job when they interact with it to tell us where we are– slouching on a chair at home relaxing with port and cigars or sitting bolt upright in an interrogation at the police station.
LOOKING AT THE PLAY IN PERFORMANCE, HOW HAS THE WORLD OF THE PLAY BEEN CREATED USING THE SET DESIGN, HOW DOES THE SET DESIGN CREATE DIFFERENT LOCATIONS AND TIMES?
There are also three symbolic doors that represent important locations: The front door of Jekyll’s house, the shabby back door into his garden, and the door of Jekyll’s laboratory. They are presented in as part of the magical supernatural language of the play.
The structure of the set is strongly based on the old operating Theatres that Neil imagined as he was writing with three curved tiers with stairs running up the sides. There are handrails to lean on at the front of each tier so that the chorus of men can lean overlooking down onto the main playing space below. This structure is permanent throughout the play.
Lighting also helps us enormously to transform the scale and feeling of a space. Gas lighting from up high puts us out on the street with some haze in the air giving us the fog of Victorian London, and a single oil lamp or candle puts us in a late-night domestic space. It has been really exciting to hear Simeon, our lighting designer’s research into Victorian light technology and the birth of electric lighting.
9
At times we go into a less realistic style of storytelling where a heightened lighting state help the audience to see that we have become more abstract – strong colour or dramatic up lighting can feel melodramatic and theatrical. Sound is another crucial tool. Ivan is exploring a wonderful mix of biological sound – breathing, pulses, gasping generated from the actors – and the Victorian songs that Neil has given us, smashed together to create something visceral and unique. Sound can create architecture very quickly – telling us how big or small a space is, if it is made of stone or padded with fabric – and then can place someone in it. We can play some interesting games with the audience as we position speakers around the space. WHAT IS THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE COLOURS, MATERIALS, SHAPES AND LEVELS USED IN YOUR SET DESIGN? WHAT DOES THIS COMMUNICATE TO THE AUDIENCE? We use levels to communicate power in the set – literally asking who is high and who is low – who is observing – judging – and who is judged? I have used a very dark black/green/yellow palette to create a murky dark space where edges can be hard to distinguish – where it is easy to hide and occasionally disappear. I am exploring a range of texture (matt/shiny smooth/bumpy) within the set and costume so that despite these blurry edges there is still enough to catch light and give us some richness – stopping the structure from being too ‘flat” and boring to look at. It is made of wood and
10
metal which has all been painted and distressed to look a little worn, inspired by the original spaces. The whole structure curves to help focus us into the main playing space, and to echo the apron stages in both spaces, so they sit in harmony with the auditoriums. This also means that the structure is self-supporting and doesn’t need a lot of extra bracing behind to stand up. HOW DID YOU APPROACH COSTUME DESIGN FOR THIS PRODUCTION? I read the script carefully to get a sense of each character – looking for any information embedded in the text about them and their journey through the story. The mechanics of the play mean that most of the actors are on stage most of the time and most play a few different people. Sometimes they all play a chorus of men that are less specific than the main characters. Talking to Sarah about the pace of the play it became clear that we didn’t want long or complicated changes for costume that would pull people off stage so we decided quite early on that most of the actors would have a set of clothes – a base – which we would adapt in a simple way – by adding a jacket, rolling up sleeves, adding an apron – as they became a different character. As you can imagine, if you only have one garment to change someone into another person, you have to be really specific! For the men particularly, keeping this clothing quite similar in silhouette and colour for all of them meant we could also see them as a matching set – wearing a kind of posh man’s uniform – that emphasised their wolf-pack nature.
WHAT RESEARCH DID YOU HAVE TO UNDERTAKE WHEN DESIGNING COSTUMES? A lot of my research comes from contemporary photography from this period. As a new technology to the Victorians it was very popular thankfully for me! It is sometimes harder finding images of workingclass people although some individuals were beginning to record the living conditions of the poor through writing, photographs and drawings to increase awareness, gain understanding and campaign for better living conditions. The Museum of London, Wandsworth prison and the courthouse in Liverpool have some chilling images of street children from this time – some recorded as they were taken to trial. The miracle of the internet means that you can have access to an amazing amount of archived information from specific collections or museums that is a little more unusual than the first page of a Google search so I try and think creatively about my search terms. For example, A lot of things that come up are very formal special occasion kinds of images so I look for material from family albums that feel more relaxed and natural – there is a wonderful photographer called Lartigue who was given a camera at a very young age. He was really interested in movement and speed so he took lots of photographs of his governess jumping – she looks so happy and real – even in her corset and long skirt. I have also built up a collection of books that I search through – go and visit any exhibitions that seem helpful – there was an excellent exhibition of the painter Walter Sickert’s work that was very good for colour and atmosphere – his paintings are very dark and smoky
as he spent a lot of time painting in Music Halls. I don’t watch films as much so that I am not too influenced by another designer’s work, but I did watch the Essex Serpent after we had settled the model which had some great scenes shot in an operating theatre (beautifully designed by Jane Petrie and Alice Normington). I also went to a great fabric merchants called Hopkins for inspiration who specialise in re-creating period fabrics. This helps me get a feel – literally – for the garments. I sometimes visit the V&A to look at the clothes for real: this helps you understand what they are in 3 dimensions and on a body – something it is very difficult to understand from a flat image. HOW DO COSTUMES CONTRIBUTE TO THE TELLING OF THE STORY? I love the way that our natural instincts – to “read” a person a soon as we meet them never really switches off. Our lizard brain survives by working out very quickly whether a new acquaintance is a friend or a foe. In our very visual age we may often send signals about what we believe, how we vote, what music we listen to, what we do for a living, who we love, what we earn – all through what we wear. Our clothes are often telling a story about us that other people are very good at understanding. Whether that story is true is another thing altogether. When I am thinking about clothes for a character I think about their story and how it develops as well as how to support the actor and their physical interpretation of a character.
11
Design analysis Here we will focus in detail on the different aspects of design in the production.
Set design Task: Ask students to sketch the set design from memory. They should try to label it with materials, colour, shapes and think about the size and scale of the design. Encourage students to remember that the stage was end on, and the audience were raked. The Process of set design As Jessica Curtis explains in her interview, design starts with a lot of research, and also a need to consider the practical demands of the show. The designer then makes a card model of the set, called a white card. Here you can see some images of Jessica Curtis’s model. Ask students to consider how these images compare to the final set design they saw in the show.
12 Set design
Creating different locations The action of the story moves very fast, and past events are often reconstructed on the stage for the audience. Ask students to consider how many locations were shown on the stage. How did the set change to accommodate these different locations? How were these changes done swiftly? Tip: In this production, lighting was also key to creating locations, so students may want to discuss set and lighting together. Locations: •
Dr Stevenson’s desk and office
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The medical lecture hall
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The street where the girl was knocked down
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Dr Jekyll’s back door
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Dr Jekyll’s front door
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Inside Dr Jekyll’s hall and library
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Dr Jekyll’s dining room
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Dr Jekyll’s laboratory
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The streets of Soho
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Mr Hyde’s Soho apartment
Production images Students can study the images on this page and use these to analyse the use of the set design in particular moments of the production.
Set design 13
Questions for students to consider • Was the set design naturalistic? Did it symbolise anything? •
How did the colour, shape and material of the set design contribute to the meaning on stage?
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How did the set design contribute to the atmosphere created on stage?
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How did the set design help to create the time period of the play?
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How did the set design help to communicate the themes of the play?
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How was the truck designed to show Dr Jekyll’s front and back door, and for Jekyll/Hyde to appear through this?
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How were the different levels of the lecture hall seating used at different points in the show?
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How was Dr Jekyll’s laboratory created on stage?
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How did the set and props contribute to the ‘magic’ and the transformations on stage?
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How did set and lighting work together at different moments of the play?
14 Set design
Analysis of the set design at particular moments Here are some key moments where the set was used effectively, which Drama students may want to discuss further and analyse for the Live Theatre exam: •
The set design of the medical lecture hall enabled levels to be used effectively – Dr Jekyll was often on the top level of the lecture hall seating, literally looking down on the ensemble and Dr Stevenson, monitoring the action. This gave him a sense of power and could link thematically to him playing God – looking down from an elevated position.
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The levels of the medical lecture hall were also used by the ensemble of Gentlemen, so the chorus had a constant presence, observing the action and literally looking down on Dr Stevenson. This linked thematically to the patriarchy of the period, and also the idea that there could be a Mr Hyde in all of us – there were several Mr Hydes on stage throughout the performance.
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The design of Jekyll’s laboratory on stage made effective use of ‘magic’ – when Jekyll added different elements to the potion he was making it changed colour before the audience’s eyes. This added a sense of wonder and also thematically linked to the transformation in the novel.
Lighting design Lighting in the production helped to show the audience when it was a different location, time period, or atmosphere. It effectively helped the action move on without the need for complex set changes.
Production images Students can study the images below and use these to analyse the use of the lighting design in particular moments of the production.
Lighting terminology students may find useful: • Tungsten lamps: Traditionally used in theatre. Lanterns with a bulb, wide angled to create a wide beam of bright light. •
LEDs: Modern and more cost-effective theatre lights, can be used to change colours without the need of gels.
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Profile Spots: Tight focused beams of light, often white, used to illuminate one or two people or a small area of stage
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Footlights: Small lights on the front of the stage, angled up to add more light to the actors’ faces
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Haze: Water vapour which creates a smoke effect and also gives light texture and makes the beams visible.
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Set practicals: A working light situated on stage, such as Dr Stevenson’s lamp
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Wash: When the stage is fully bathed in light
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Snap: When the lights change quickly or instantly.
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Fade: When the lights change more slowly, either to blackout or to another lighting state (cross-fade). Lighting design 15
Questions for students to consider • How did the lighting change when the action went into a reconstructed scene (flashback)?
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The stage lights flickered when Utterson is about to reveal that the door was Jekyll’s house – the ensemble physically tense up creating a tense energy, and the use of lighting combined with this physical reaction helped to mark the moment as being significant on stage.
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Set practicals are used throughout the production to create a sense of location and time period– a brass desk lamp in Dr Stevenson’s office and overhead hanging pendants in the medical lecture hall.
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How did the lighting help to create atmosphere at particular moments?
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How did the lighting help to create a sense of location?
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How did the colour of the lighting help to convey meaning?
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How did the lighting contribute to the creation of tension and suspense?
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During Carew’s autopsy scene, the lighting is cold, bright white, creating a cold and clinical atmosphere.
Analysis of the lighting at particular moments Here are some key moments where the lighting was used effectively, which Drama students may want to discuss further and analyse for the Live Theatre exam:
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During the taxi journey into Soho, the stage is lit from above with blue and amber – the blue of dark night, amber of streetlights. There was also the use of haze to create fog effect, suggesting the slums of Soho and building the tension before they arrived at Mr Hyde’s house.
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During the music hall style scene when Mr Guest was analysing the handwriting, Mr Guest was interpreted as a Music Hall entertainer or magician, and the lighting changes to warm amber to reflect the internal warm, jovial atmosphere of the music hall.
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Flashes of green and amber light were used during the moment of Jekyll’s final transformation – highlighted the surreal, supernatural elements of the story.
The lighting was generally white, but there was a change of lighting from white to amber for the ‘reconstruction’ of the trampling of the Girl – this helped to communicate to the audience that there was a change in time and location, and also created the effect of amber streetlights.
16 Lighting design
Sound design
DOCTOR S
That journey was dreadful.
Sound is used at specific moments in the production to add tension and suspense.
THE GENTLEMEN
That I love London so;
Task: Students could look at the following short script extract and consider how sounds could be used to add tension and suspense to this moment. You could print this page and ask students to label the section with sound cues, e.g. “SFX 1 – thunder”
MR UTTERSON
Blast this fog...
THE GENTLEMEN
Maybe it's because I'm a Londoner, –
DOCTOR S
The streets all dismal –
THE GENTLEMEN
That I think of her, wherever I go;
DOCTOR S AND MR UTTERSON
Women, in doorways –
THE GENTLEMEN
I gets this funny feeling inside of me, –
DOCTOR S
And children;
THE GENTLEMEN
just walking up and down;
DOCTOR S
Children, for god's sake!
THE GIRL
(as in; “ You didn't know?) Right...
THE GENTLEMEN
Maybe it's because I'm a Londoner...
DOCTOR S AND MR UTTERSON
This city's a nightmare.
THE GENTLEMEN
…that I love London town!
DOCTOR S AND MR UTTERSON
A nightmare...
Sound design 17
Questions for students to consider • How can sound design create a sense of location? •
When did the use of sound create atmosphere at particular moments in the production?
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Can you remember any moments when lighting and sound worked together?
Analysis of the sound at particular moments Here are some key moments where the sound was used effectively, which Drama students may want to discuss further and analyse for the Live Theatre exam: •
When Jekyll is highlighted for the first time in the play, soft electronic synth music is played, giving Jekyll a surreal, dreamlike quality and perhaps linking to how he is described as being attractive and enticing in the novel.
18 Sound design
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During Poole’s monologue when she explains how she saw Sir Danvers Carew being attacked, slow, tense piano music at a highly tinkly pitch is played. This effectively created a suspenseful and tense atmosphere.
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During the taxi journey into Soho the sound effect of the clip-clopping of hooves is heard, to create the sense that they are travelling in a horse drawn carriage of the period.
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During the Soho scene, the Gentlemen sing “Maybe it’s because I’m a Londoner” slowly and slurring – the ensemble are wearing microphones with a reverb sound effect added to create a haunting echo effect. This creates the effect of drunk men in the street, unsavoury atmosphere, seedy, and lewd.
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During the section where the ensemble narrate that Jekyll was well again and back to normal, appearing at church and at charity dinners, a hymn is sung by the ensemble of Gentlemen – a low drone SFX of organ music is added, and the Gentlemen’s microphones again have an added reverb effect. This creates a juxtaposition of the holy music creating a sinister effect. Jekyll is lit from above by a spotlight, Godlike in white.
Costume design In her interview, Jessica Curtis explains the process of costume design and the research she undertook. On this page are some of Jessica’s costume sketches. Ask students to explore these and consider how they compare to the final costumes seen in the production:
Costume design 19
Production images Students can use these images to analyse the costume design in the production, and answer the questions opposite, to deepen their learning.
20 Costume design
Questions for students to consider • How did the costume design help to create a sense of each character? •
How was colour used to create meaning in the costume design?
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How did small costume changes help to create different characters?
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How did the costume design communicate the status of a character?
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How did the costumes create the time period of the play? What do you recognise from your knowledge of the Victorian period in the design of the costumes?
Costume design 21
Using the production to prepare for the English Literature exam Here are some tasks which will encourage students to think about the language, structure, and themes of the novel in comparison to the stage text – this will help with studying or revising the novel for the GCSE English Literature exam.
1. Interpretations of Utterson
3. Creating a Gothic atmosphere
Ask students to use the novel and make a mindmap of how they interpret Utterson in the novel, backing this up with quotes from the text.
Ask students to look back at chapter one and find evidence of how Stevenson creates a Gothic atmosphere. For example, they could look at this extract from chapter one:
Then ask students to consider the stage adaptation, and think about how Utterson was interpreted on stage – was this similar or different? Throughout act 1, Utterson becomes visibly more dishevelled, his hair becomes looser, his body language becomes less restrained – what does this show about how the character is changing? 2. Characterisation of Enfield Ask students to consider how Enfield is presented on stage – and how he responds to Dr Stevenson (calling her Miss instead of Dr). Even though Dr Stevenson is not in the novel, how does this connect to his character in the novel? How does Enfield act around different characters? How does Enfield react when questioned about why he was in the street at 3am? How does this link to the themes of the novel?
22 Using the production to prepare for the English Literature exam
Two doors from one corner, on the left hand going east, the line was broken by the entry of a court; and just at that point, a certain sinister block of building thrust forward its gable onto the street. It was two storeys high; showed no window, nothing but a door on the lower storey and a blind forehead of discoloured wall on the upper; and bore every feature, the marks of a prolonged and sordid negligence. The door, which was equipped with neither bell nor knocker, was blistered and distained. How does this description of the door create a sinister mood? Students should consider the use of language, and how this links to the duality in the novel. Then ask students to consider how the Gothic atmosphere was created on stage – how were lighting and sound used to do this?
4. Descriptions of Hyde
6. Descriptions of Soho
Ask students to look back at the novel and the first descriptions of Hyde. Students could make a mindmap of vocabulary choices and how the description links to the themes of the novel. Then ask students to consider how Hyde was physically characterised on stage in the production. How did the actor bring this to life? Was this similar or different to the description in the novel?
Ask students to think about the scene in the play where Utterson and Stevenson take a taxi to Soho. In this scene, blue and amber lighting is combined with haze, and the ensemble sing “I’m a Londoner” in a slow, slurring way with a reverb sound effect. Ask students to consider what effects are created here, and what the director is trying to convey about Soho as an area of London. Then students could compare this staging with the setting of Soho in the novel, and the description below:
Here is an example of the first description of Hyde: He is not easy to describe. There is something wrong with his appearance; something displeasing, something downright detestable. I never saw a man I so disliked, and yet I scarce know why. He must be deformed somewhere; he gives a strong feeling of deformity, although I couldn’t specify the point. He’s an extraordinarylooking man, and yet I really can name nothing out of the way. No, sir; I can make no hand of it; I can’t describe him. And it’s not want of memory; for I declare I can see him this moment. 5. Transformation in front of Lanyon This text below describes how Jekyll transformed in front of his friend Lanyon. Ask students to read this and discuss how the visual images are created in the description. Then ask students to consider how the transformations were staged in the play – how did the actors physicalise this? He put the glass to his lips and drank at one gulp. A cry followed; he reeled, staggered, clutched at the table and held on, staring with injected eyes, gasping with open mouth; and as I looked there came, I thought, a change—he seemed to swell—his face became suddenly black and the features seemed to melt and alter—and the next moment, I had sprung to my feet and leaped back against the wall, my arms raised to shield me from that prodigy, my mind submerged in terror.
As the cab drew up before the address indicated, the fog lifted a little and showed him a dingy street, a gin palace, a low French eating house, a shop for the retail of penny numbers and twopenny salads, many ragged children huddled in the doorways, and many women of many different nationalities passing out, key in hand, to have a morning glass; and the next moment the fog settled down again upon that part, as brown as umber, and cut him off from his blackguardly surroundings. 7. Henry Jekyll’s full statement of the case Ask students to look back at Jekyll’s final statement in chapter 10. There are lots of key quotes students could pull out to analyse Jekyll’s mental state. Ask students to find quotes which link to the themes of duality, Victorian morality, addiction, religion, and science. Looking at the quote below, ask students to think about how this moment was staged in the production. How did the actor playing Jekyll use his skills to present how Jekyll felt about being Hyde? ‘There was something strange in my sensations, something indescribably new and, from its very novelty, incredibly sweet. I felt younger, lighter, happier in body; within I was conscious of a heady recklessness, a current of disordered sensual images running like a millrace in my fancy, a solution of the bonds of obligation, an unknown but not an innocent freedom of the soul.’
Using the production to prepare for the English Literature exam 23
Scene extracts The following scene extracts from Neil Bartlett’s adaptation could be used as a memory aid for students, or for students to use to act out key scenes from the production.
24 Scene extracts
1. Mrs Poole’s monologue: Well yes Doctor, it was; nearly a whole year later god bless us. Doesn't time fly! Anyway; there was this housemaid, apparently – the papers said – and she'd gone to bed, about eleven o'clock, as you do – and it had been cloudy, you see, but then there was a moon, you see – and she was looking out the window, as you do – and suddenly coming down the lane there was this rather small sort of a young gentleman, the papers said – and he was approached, if you get my meaning, Miss, by this other man – who was an older gentleman, you see – white hair, Miss, and all very distinguishedlooking... and anyway, they got talking – and about what Miss the police never specified, if you know what I mean – and the next thing, the little one goes quiet all of a sudden, goes all very impatient and offended-looking – and he has this cane, see, a sort of a gentleman's fancy walking-cane... and well he sort of clubs him. Gets him right down on the ground, would you believe – hits him so hard he actually breaks the cane! And then, would you believe it , he tramples him –
2. Jekyll swears he won’t see Hyde again: UTTERSON You have not been mad enough to hide this monster in your house? DR JEKYLL Utterson I swear to God – to God – I will never set eyes on Hyde again. I’m quite done with him, you see. Indeed, Hyde doesn’t want my help any more. You of course don’t know him as I do – no – but trust me, he’s safe – quite safe. I promise you; you’ll never hear of Mr Hyde again. UTTERSON You see pretty sure of him. If this murder ever comes to trial – DR JEKYLL In fact … I’ve just received a letter from him. I’m not sure I shouldn’t show it to the police – but I thought perhaps I might leave that decision in your hands, Utterson. You’re such a wise judge of things. And – of course – I trust you... JEKYLL holds out the letter for UTTERSON to take. UTTERSON You fear I suppose that a letter might lead to his detection. DR JEKYLL Well I was thinking more of my own character... of all our characters, really. Which this hateful business could perhaps rather expose. Beat UTTERSON
May I read it?
The letter is handed over. UTTERSON reads it; JEKYLL watches him closely while making sure that UTTERSON isn’t aware of him doing this. THE GENTLEMEN
Read all about it...
DR JEKYLL You see...he thanks me for my past assistance – financially...but assures me I need labour under no alarm – henceforth – because he’s found himself a sure means of escape. An absolutely sure means. And look how he signs off; your unworthy servant etc.– unworthy, you see, he admits that now – Edward... Hyde.
Scene extracts 25
3. Jekyll explaining his motives for creating the potion: JEKYLL …If only these two “persons” of mine, I began to think, might be truly split. Dis-associated. If the “sordid” or violent part of me – for instance – might walk his downward path delivered from all remorse, while his more upright twin might carry on doing all the good things he was doing, but no longer threatened by Disgrace. Or Penitence. Such a discovery would take science far beyond the mere furtherance of knowledge, I thought – far beyond the simple relief of sorrow and suffering – it would tend, you might say, towards the mystic. Imagine... THE GENTLEMEN
(an addict’s anticipation of pleasure) Aaaah...
DR JEKYLL Well I did more. At my laboratory table , I learnt to pluck back these merely fleshly vestments; to free the twins. The fortress of identity shook – DOCTOR S
How did you do it, Doctor?
DR JEKYLL
Sorry?
DOCTOR S
What was in the mixture?
DR JEKYLL Ah. Shall we just say, Doctor, that whatever it was, it worked. As it happens, the powdered form of the main ingredient can be purchased from any respectable firm of chemists...
26 Scene extracts
