Double dose of horror for Halloween at the Criterion Theatre
Are you brave enough to take an emotional roller-coaster horror ride for Halloween?
The Criterion Theatre in Blue Town on the Isle of Sheppey is presenting two very different attractions to celebrate the spookiest time of the year.
On Friday, October 30, the recreated music hall is showing The Rocky Horror Picture Show – complete with audience participation – on the big screen as a tribute to the late Tim Curry who created the mad scientist Frank-n-Further on the London stage in 1973 and went on to immortalise it in the 1975 film.
The actor, who said he based the way Frank spoke on the late Queen, died in Los Angeles in August aged 80. The cult show starts at 7.30pm. Tickets are £10.
On Saturday, August 31, one of Britain’s most talented actors is taking his one-man version of The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde to the Criterion.
The last time James Hyland performed this play on the island the Sheerness Times Guardian described it as “one of the most mesmerising and terrifying performances you'll ever see.”
It warned: “This is an emotional roller-coaster which keeps the audience on the edge of its seats right up to, and including, the last line."
Award-winning Kent-based Hyland is no stranger to darkly fascinating productions.
Criterion audiences lapped up his version of A Christmas Carol (as told by Jacob Marley’s ghost), complete with clanking chains, this time last year and pleaded for the theatre’s bosses to rebook him.
He was recently named Actor of the Year by Pink Prince Theatre for his performance in his take on the Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic thriller about deadly split personalities.
The play itself, which Hyland (53 on October 10) adapted, has been rated one of the top five fringe plays of the year.
It is based on the Scottish author’s 1886 gothic horror about the battle between good and evil. The novella was published 140 years ago, two years before the start of Jack the Ripper’s murderous spree across London’s East End.
It is a tough show to be in. Hyland speaks non-stop for nearly an hour on his own on stage with nothing but a wooden lectern as a prop.
Dr Jekyll is a 19th century London scientist who devises a potion that will bring out his impulsive, reckless side: Mr Hyde. Unfortunately, that means death, destruction and mayhem.
Initially, the transformations are straightforward and controlled by the serum. But there comes a point when no potion is needed and it is Mr Hyde who dominates. The downward spiral is complete and the only way out for Dr Jekyll is death itself.
Turning the tale into a one-man show was no easy task. The novella features several characters, including the people that Hyde terrorises, brutalises, or kills.
Leaving all of this to our imaginations is a skill Hyland possesses in spades.
Jenny Hurkett, founder of the Criterion, said: “We have had James before. He is a master of suspense. It’s going to be a great night. As for The Rocky Horror Picture Show, I dread to think what will happen there. Our mystery host is planning all manner of surprises.”
· The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. Criterion Theatre, Sheerness. Saturday, October 31, at 7.30pm. £22.50. To book, call 01795 662981 or visit thecriterionbluetown.co.uk
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