Boo, hiss, and "oh-no-it-isn't" your way through this original Halloween pantomime, an ideal family outing for half term.
We've taken the spooky story of Henry Jekyll and Edward Hyde, and given it a fun spin. There's original songs, gallons of groanworthy jokes and energetic dance routines from Waltham Forest group Theatretrain. Given an innovative twist with fast-moving digital graphics, this show is sure to grab your attention and get you participating!
PRODUCED IN ASSOCIATION WITH THEATRETRAIN
SUPPORTED BY AWARDS FOR ALL and the JACK PETCHEY FOUNDATION
Article from The Stage newspaper
XL Video UK supplied video projection to Tim Saward's innovative production of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde - Make Mine a Double, staged at the Broadway in Barking by the Leytonstone-based Woodhouse Players.
Produced and directed by Saward, the script was written by co-producer Thos Ribbits. A large onstage projection area utilising multiple openings and traps was used to create the scenic backdrops and for various animated effects and digital props. Saward had produced a version of Dracula in 2003 that had explored the advantages of video but when Jekyll & Hyde started evolving he decided to go with a fully digital backdrop from the outset.
He also wrote to every illustration college course in the country, asking if they had any artist/illustrators who would be interested in undertaking the work as a portfolio piece. From that mail-shot, two finalists at Kingston University - Matt Latchford and Lucy Izzard - were then given a detailed brief to produce imaginative original material for the three-hour show.
For the show's hardware, Saward was recommended to XL's arts and theatre specialist Malcolm Mellows, who commented: "It is an excellent and creative production that proves the point I often make - that video can be of great benefit to smaller theatre shows where there simply isn't the space to use elaborate sets and drops."
Initially Saward had envisioned back projecting, but the venue lacked the space, there being only a 5m throw distance from the front and a 5m tall image being needed. So Mellows calculated a front projection solution that filled the screen using Barco's 0.8 : 1 ratio lens, and keystone correction software. XL's technician, Ed Browne installed the projector (Barco SLM G8), did the line up and stayed for the technical rehearsals.
The imagery, which included locations as diverse as the laundry room, Dr Jekyll's study and laboratory, hospital wards, entrance and exit doorways as well as a variety of sinister London street scenes at night, were overlaid with animated action, all of which were stored on a specially built PC. Saward gave Latchford and Izzard ideas about what he thought the script needed in terms of virtual scenery, though leaving enough scope for them to create their own visions.
They worked on the project for three months and delivered the resulting material as 19 FLA flash files, each containing a series of content for each scene. Saward and Richard Lockwood then did some additional action-scripting to ensure continuity. The files were then set up to be activated easily and logically as cues from the PC, which also had to be synched to specific musical cues.