You are likely at least vaguely familiar with the overarching plot of Jekyll & Hyde, even if the musical version departs somewhat from Stevenson’s novel, The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. Notably, the musical  sees the addition of two significant female characters: Jekyll’s fiancée Emma Carew (Amy Kenyon) and the prostitute Lucy Harris (Imogen Bowden). The basic premise, however, remains consistent with that of Stevenson’s book: scientist Dr Henry Jekyll (Tristan Hood) creates an elixir which, when consumed, unleashes his evil alter ego – Edward Hyde – who proceeds to run rampant in London, murdering left, right and centre with gleeful abandon.

Now that the plot has been roughly established for those of you who have had the mis/fortune to avoid studying this GCSE classic, I’ll cut to the chase: you should definitely watch Jekyll & Hyde at The Oxford Playhouse. Broken Wheel Productions’ staging of this musical showcases some serious talent and the creative team (Jak Spencer and Thomas Freeman as co-directors) and Iris Burlacu (musical director) have done a fantastic job at capturing the darkness at the heart of the show.

Hood’s performance as Jekyll/Hyde is quite extraordinary. He embraces the physicality of the role of Hyde, transforming into an aggressive, lumbering figure and projecting an aura of menace across the stage. His scenes aggressing Lucy were truly uncomfortable to watch. Yet it is vocally where Hood is at his most impressive. Already possessing a rich, warm tone as Jekyll, his vocal transformation into the menacing, growled tone of Hyde is truly phenomenal. The notes I took during his initial transformation scene simply read “Ok WOW.”

Hood’s vocal power means that the orchestra does not hold back, and this is usually to great effect. It is only occasionally – in sections with sustained brass – that the instruments slightly obscure Hood’s words. Indeed, there were also a couple of first-night problems with the blend: in the quartet “His Work and Nothing More,” Sir Danvers Carew (Cameron Maiklem) and Mr Utterson (James Pearson) were overpowered by Kenyon and Hood. This is, however, more a testament to Kenyon’s & Hood’s abilities to belt rather than an indication of any weakness on Pearson’s and Maiklem’s parts – both of whom are extremely capable singers.

Rare blending issues aside, the orchestra’s performance is the best that I have ever heard in a student production, and Burlacu should be very proud of the showcase of musical ability she has facilitated. Similarly, the actors deliver fantastic vocal performances across the board – main cast and ensemble alike. I cannot stress enough how remarkable the actors’ singing is. It sounds truly professional and is a joy to listen to. Also, their diction is superb: even as someone who is not too familiar with the musical, I understood almost every word.

Kenyon and Bowden’s ability to keep their melodies sounding effortless whilst respectively waltzing and engaging in a kickline is commendable. Their duet “In His Eyes” is a particular highlight of the show. In her role as Lucy, Bowden masters an impressive range of emotion, delivering the raucous chorus-line “Bring On the Men” and the bittersweet vulnerability of “Sympathy, Tenderness” with equal conviction, and she uses a spoken Cockney accent to great effect. On opening night, however, Bowden’s accent did have a tendency to slip while singing, although this did little to detract from her overall excellent performance.

Another standout element of the production is that of the set design (Ted Fussell) and lighting (Tilly Jackson-Long and Anastazie Towers). The lighting is varied and interesting, effectively emphasising the different egos of Jekyll and Hyde. It is also very creative: at one point, the lighting team projects raindrops and swirling flames onto the back of the stage; at another, glaring house lighting breaks the fourth wall to accompany the line: “those bastards hold the reins.” The set whirls through a variety of impressive changes (from the front rooms of houses, to Jekyll’s laboratory, to the streets of London, to “The Red Rat” where Lucy works).

Occasionally, however, some of the artistic choices seem a little strange. For example, at one point, both Jekyll and Mr Utterson (James Pearson) are seated in a green chair with their backs to the audience. Similarly, the blocking of the wedding scene means it is impossible to see the “happy couple” from the edge of the auditorium, and the actors are all standing in a line with their backs to the audience. Additionally, the decision to give certain secondary characters canes – which then disappear halfway through the show for no apparent reason – feels somewhat unnecessary. Only with Lady Beaconsfield (Victoria Kinne) does this costume decision make sense, for Kinne wields her prop in a way that makes her haughty sense of superiority abundantly clear.

However, the fact that my biggest quibble with Broken Wheel Productions’ Jekyll & Hyde is its mysteriously disappearing canes, is a testament to the quality of the show. Yes, there were occasional first-night problems: one noticeable line-flub; one cracked high note; and Maiklem’s mic briefly cut out, but the actors all recovered from these fleeting problems with impressive professionalism.

In short, I would highly recommend going to see Jekyll & Hyde for a night of gothic horror and some quite extraordinary musical talent. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to go and listen to “Façade” on repeat…

[Jekyll & Hyde, a musical staged by Broken Wheel Productions is running at The Oxford Playhouse 26th Feb-1st March]