“We are all hiding behind a facade.” Who would have thought that we had such talented people in this small Scottish town!
Last Saturday, my friends and I decided to give musical theatre in St Andrews a shot. We purchased tickets for the student production of Jekyll & Hyde for £10 and headed over to the Byre theatre under the pouring rain with — let’s be honest — quite low expectations. Boy were we wrong!
From the first moment the cast appeared on stage we were all taken aback. It is one thing to be able to act, and a completely different thing to be able to sing, dance, and act without missing a single note or dance move.
Special mention to James Mcninch, who was able to show us what full control of one’s vocal register truly looks like. The terrifying ease with which he was able to shift the tone of his voice to mark the transformation of Dr. Jekyll into Mr. Hyde and vice versa was truly impressive. This was especially impressive in the confrontation scene, Lucy Callaghan’s (producer) favourite performance due to the combination of James’ stunning voice and “the lighting” which juxtaposed bright red lights with growing shadows, drawing the audience’s attention to the body language of the actor. A truly shocking visual experience which summed up the main theme of the play: there is not one, but two versions of us competing within our bodies.
Similarly, the audience, who I spoke to after the show, was moved by the stellar performances of Lucy and Emma. Lucy, played by Jasmine Willans, is a prostitute from the East End who falls in love with Dr. Jekyll’s kindness, whilst Emma, played by Amy Dunn, is Jekyll’s rich heiress fiancée. These two women, who at first seem to be the complete opposite of each other, managed to break our hearts in a stunning duet where we were able to see Lucy’s gentle vulnerability and Emma’s unexpected strength and independence. Both actresses did a wonderful job of bringing these two women together by leaning on each other’s voices throughout with a perfect balance of competition and female empathy.
Congratulations too to the ensemble who provided us with fantastic performances. They nailed every choreography and hit every single note in synchronisation! The audience particularly enjoyed their performance of ‘Murder’, in which the ensemble travelled around London, transforming the stage with their bodies and voices.
I managed to speak to the producer Lucy Callaghan who emphasised the “hard work and dedication all of the team have put into the show”. She points out that beyond the people we see on stage, there were “around 50 people involved, from production team, cast and orchestra, to shadows who were learning the ropes” and their equal role in making the creative vision come to life. This was her first time being involved in the behind-the-scenes aspect of theatre and she encourages us to look beyond the stage’s ‘facade’ (pun intended) and appreciate the hard work of those behind the curtains.
I truly encourage you to give Jekyll & Hyde a chance and show your support for their incredible work on and off stage. At the very least, you will be entertained and impressed by their talent.
Who knows, they might even inspire you to get involved in a student-led production?