Jekyll & Hyde (NHB Modern Plays)

Evan Placey, Robert Louis Stevenson

• Publisher: Nick Hern Books
• Year: 2017
• ISBN:
  9781780019888
• Topic: Literature
• Subtopic: British Drama
• Index: Literature

Everyone has another face they hide behind…

A radical re-imagining by playwright Evan Placey of Robert Louis Stevenson's classic tale, where civilised society meets seedy Soho in a thrilling collision of Victorian England with the here and now.

Written for the National Youth Theatre, and first performed by the company at the Ambassadors Theatre in the West End in 2017, Jekyll & Hyde offers a full range of parts for schools and youth-theatre groups looking for a contemporary reinvention of a macabre classic.

'Intense, exciting... a bold reimagining' - WhatsOnStage

'Ambitious, angry, and intriguing, Evan Placey's radical adaptation transforms the familiar story into a discussion of powerfully resonant contemporary issues' - The Stage

'A topical. intelligent, thoughtful, feminist take on Robert Louis Stevenson's novella... rollicking good theatre – frank, uncompromising, fresh and often quite confrontational… an ensemble piece in that it forms a fine show case for the talents of every cast member' - Sardines Magazine

ACT ONE

Scene One

A theatre.

Loud growling in the dark.

Noisy spotlight lights up a cage. The growling continues.
We catch a glimpse of a tiger’s paw.
Light out.

Spotlight lights up another cage.
A glimpse of a tiger’s tail.
Light out.

Light up on another cage.
A glimpse of a tiger’s back legs.
Light out.

Light up on SALLY. She wears tiger print. And holds a whip.

SALLY. Grrrrr.

Ladies, gentleman, good evening.

Now I know you have not come here to see me. It’s my boys behind me that you want.

But first a little story.

From my youth.

My mother would tell me I was a troublesome child.

Wild.

I’d come inside with tears in my tights, and mud on my shoes, ants in my pants and a bee in my bonnet.

Literally.

Mother was at a loss.

Can’t you ever sit still, child? This is not how a girl ought to behave. It’s a like a three-ring circus whenever you’re about. Why don’t you go play with your dolls like a good little girl?

I felt alone. I felt misunderstood. I felt… caged.

Father got a job in Africa. How exciting, I thought.

But Mother kept me on an even closer leash.

Which only made me pull harder on it. (Pulls the whip.)

And then one day we were out in the savannah, and I wandered off, and I returned to find Mother’s worry turn to anger. She was at her wit’s end.

I am at my wit’s end, child!

She didn’t know what to do with me.

I don’t know what to do with you.

And then she did.

You’re so set on running off, doing as you please, then I shall leave you here. Find your own way back. Maybe then you’ll finally learn.

And she left me there.

She disappeared amongst the tall grass. Her bobbing head but a speck.

For the first time in my life…

I’m scared.

Growls from the tigers behind.

I’m thirsty.

I see the sea. I run to it.

A mirage.

I’m lost.

And then:

Bam. The stage is flooded in lights – all of the tigers’ faces pressed hard against their cages.

What do I do? I know my small legs can’t outrun them.

And then:

Loud jangle of one of the cage doors opening. The tiger comes out.

One of them approaches me. Slowly.

Stares into my eyes.

And then another.

Another cage opens, tiger out.

I keep my head moving back and forth to keep them both in my sight.

But then:

The remaining cages open. The tigers out.

They circle me. But then I see. In their eyes. That they know, they see. That inside, it’s as Mother said.

I am wild. Wild like them.

She whips the ground. And the performance begins. The tigers are all obedient. Obeying her every command. It’s almost like a dance. The music grows in tempo, and the performance seems to get more and more daring. And then we dissolve into:

Scene Two

Stage door.

SALLY smokes opium from a pipe by the stage door.

SALLY. Come on, boys, I’m freezing out here.

Y’alright, love?

JEKYLL. I’m. Yes. I just.

SALLY. Had a fright, have you? Here, you want a smoke?

JEKYLL. No, no. I’m fine.

I just. You were spectacular. Tonight. I saw the

SALLY. Oh did you? Aw thanks.

JEKYLL. It was truly

I’ve never seen anything like it

And I

I’ve never done anything like this

SALLY. Like this?

JEKYLL. Talking to, well, people I don’t know and

I’ve never been to the theatre before. And I asked and they said there was a stage door and

SALLY. Wow, a virgin. Glad I could be your first.

Beat.

So you here with your husband or what?

JEKYLL. Uh no no. I came

On my own

Which must seem

SALLY. Good on you

JEKYLL. And that story. My goodness. I really. It must have been hard with a mother like that. What happened after?

When you returned home, after your mother left you like that – what did she say?

SALLY. Dunno, darling, have to ask the writer. It’s just a story.

JEKYLL. Oh right. Course. I feel

SALLY. Don’t. I take it as a compliment! That it was convincing.

JEKYLL. I should leave you. I just wanted to say well what I said. Thank you.

SALLY. We go to The Fox and Hounds. You should come.

JEKYLL. Now?

SALLY. Now, tomorrow, whenever. Ciao. (Exits.)

JEKYLL hesitates. Should she join SALLY? A policeman, OFFICER ROSE, strolls by.

OFFICER ROSE. Miss?

JEKYLL. Goodness, sorry, you scared me.

OFFICER ROSE. Can I help you with something? Are you lost?

JEKYLL. I’m…

OFFICER ROSE. I don’t think you mean to be around parts like these.

JEKYLL. No. I made a turn somewhere and I.

OFFICER ROSE. Where are you meant to be?

JEKYLL. Home. Grosvenor Square. Mayfair.

OFFICER ROSE. That there’s Shaftesbury. Follow it down, you’ll hit Regent Street.

JEKYLL....