Jekyll and Hyde but with a twist

The classic tale of Jekyll and Hyde is being presented for the first time in Pahiatua but with a schizophrenic twist.

Pahiatua Repertory Society director Scott Andrew said while many people were familiar with the story, not so many knew it was also a ‘‘hidden gem of a musical’’.

‘‘It has a great musical score and we are very lucky to be doing it here,’’ he said. ‘‘It’s really powerful and it’s really cool.’’

Andrew said his goal in theatre was always to move the story into a place that ‘‘makes it accessible to a modern audience’’.

‘‘For me what it is really about is public health. We have a doctor searching for humankind’s ills and his motivation is to cure his father’s mental illness. The show is set in a hospital and I just decided to never leave that hospital ward at all. The whole thing begins to happen in his mind and Jekyll has manifested his own delusion.’’

The Pahiatua Repertory Society has become known for its use of projections in its productions, a tradition started by the late Gordon Alve.

Andrew decided to keep that going and make the musical into ‘‘a live film on stage’’. ‘‘It has been a really big challenge, a huge learning curve without Gordy being here. He left a big hole in technical knowledge, but we are using three projectors and we have done a lot of work to make things moving all the time, to give things a real edge.’’

The main character of Doctor Henry Jekyll is played by Chris Thompson and Andrew said it was ‘‘his biggest role yet’’.

‘‘It is very challenging and he is quite remarkable.’’

Jekyll and Hyde will open at Pahiatua’s Regent Theatre on November 16 and will run until December 2.