Pitlochry Festival Theatre Will Premiere Hannah Lavery's New Adaptation Of JEKYLL AND HYDE Next Month

Hannah Lavery's new adaptation to retell Stevenson's classic Victorian tale, Jekyll and Hyde from the perspective of the women who occupy the peripheries of the original story.

Theatre audiences are set to see a different side of Robert Louis Stevenson's classic horror story, Jekyll and Hyde, this August when Pitlochry Festival Theatre stages the premiere of Hannah Lavery's new adaptation which retells the gothic tale from the point of view of the women of the story.

Performed as a monologue by Alicia McKenzie and directed by Pitlochry Festival Theatre's Associate Director Amy Liptrott, Jekyll and Hyde will be staged in the theatre's beautiful outdoor amphitheatre between 18 August and 8 September.

Hannah Lavery's new adaptation of Stevenson's novel exposes the duality of human nature, between innocence and violence, friendship and deceit, reputation and reality, of what it is to be truly human.

Playwright Hannah Lavery said:

"Reading Jekyll and Hyde again, I was struck by the women at the edges of the story, and I began to wonder what would happen if these women were to tell the story, their story. If his cook, his servant, his victim, his landlady, his witness, were to be given the space to speak. And as this adaptation was to be a monologue, I was keen to show the women take their form, manifest in front of the audience, giving voice to these previously silenced women, and thus allowing me to explore the good and the evil, the duality of this good man, from the perspectives of the women who stood watching him, fearing him from the shadows and the edges of his life and his world."

Elizabeth Newman, Artistic Director of Pitlochry Festival Theatre added:

"This summer we felt it was a real opportunity to continue to give our audiences new novel adaptations. Jekyll and Hyde is an extraordinary novel, and it has seen many theatrical adaptations over the years. Hannah Lavery is one of Scotland's most exciting writing talents. Her poetic voice and understanding of big ideas made her a wonderful choice to adapt Jekyll and Hyde. I was thrilled to find that Hannah loves the novel and that she was up for doing a stage adaptation. Her version promises to offer a brand-new insight into the complex nature of human beings and how often the voice of the most vulnerable become silent so easily in great stories."

Poet, playwright, performer and director, Hannah Lavery's theatre credits include The Drift (tour of Scotland as part of The National Theatre of Scotland's Season 2019); Lament for Sheku Bayoh (co-production with the Royal Lyceum Theatre, National Theatre of Scotland and Edinburgh International Festival and is set to return to the Edinburgh International Festival this year). Her poetry has been published widely and her poem, Scotland, You're No Mine, was selected by Roseanne Watt as one of the Best Scottish Poems 2019. Her pamphlet, Finding Seaglass was published by Stewed Rhubarb Press in 2019.

Performing the monologue will be Alicia McKenzie, who returns to Pitlochry after appearing in the theatre's 2019 productions of The Crucible, Summer Holiday, Blonde Bombshells of 1943, and North and South. Her other theatre credits include Quality Street (Northern Broadsides); The Wind in the Willows (New Vic Theatre); Women in Power (Nuffield, Southampton); Whisky Galore (Oldham Coliseum, New Vic, Hull Truck); and A Christmas Carol (Stephen Joseph Theatre). She will soon be seen in ITV's new drama The Thief, His Wife, and the Canoe.

Pitlochry Festival Theatre is keeping things flexible so audiences can too. They will honour no-hassle refunds and exchanges for any reason (including the weather!) if it is requested at least 24 hours before the performance time. So, audiences can book for summer with the confidence that if plans change, their tickets and money can too!

Jekyll and Hyde will be performed in the capacity limited open-air Amphitheatre at Pitlochry Festival Theatre between the 18 August and 8 September.

For tickets and information visit www.pitlochryfestivaltheatre.com

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