Theatre / “Jekyll & Hyde”, at Bicentennial Hall, Queanbeyan, until Sunday, May 23. Reviewed by PHILLIP MACKENZIE. 

THE “Jekyll & Hyde” experience, as delivered to an audience of willing victims, is one not to be missed – except by the faint-hearted. 

For people who go to the theatre in order to sit, watch and be gently entertained, don’t go near the stunningly refurbished and flexible Bicentennial Hall in the next few days.

The New Zealand company, A Slightly Isolated Dog, has been responsible for captivating audiences around the country, most recently with their interpretation of “Don Juan”, which I regrettably missed. But one can be fairly confident that its entertainment value was up to the standard with “Jekyll & Hyde”, directed by Leo Gene Peters.

Even if one can never quite remember who was Jekyll and who, Hyde — i.e., who was the goody and who, the other in Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic novel.

But who actually cares when this group of hyper-active pseudo-French persons gets stuck into it?

The gang of five has this style of interactive theatre down to a “T”, beginning with mingling with the audience in the foyer before and after the 80-minute show, then connecting with particular members in the facing banks of traverse seating between which they carry on their madcap but highly disciplined, performance.

Not one opportunity to engage spontaneously with individual members of the audience, whether primed or not (who cares?) could threaten the accuracy of their practised cues. And their technical cues, drumbeats, bombs, gunshots, blackouts, were a treat to behold.

As for their linguistic skills, this reviewer was amazed that they were able to convey so much in English, despite their heavy Gallic accents. The fact that they so often all spoke at once mattered not – we would have understood, anyway.

This production, which continues until Sunday, was a thoroughly entertaining 80 minutes, with a judicious soupçon of naughty, risqué Française that almost defies serious criticism – thank heavens.