Morphic Graffiti debuted producing musicals in London with a strong bet: JEKYLL AND HYDE, the musical by Frank Wildhorn and Leslie Bricusse. It premiered on Broadway in 1997, and opened in Spain in 2000 in a very successful production, starring the popular Spanish artist Raphael.

JEKYLL AND HYDE opened officially on 18th May 2012, at the Union Theatre; an Off-West End venue which in the last few years has become one of the main venues of fringe Musical Theatre, offering high-quality productions despite the intimate space.

The director of the show Luke Fredericks - co-creator of Morphic Graffiti alongside Stewart Charlesworth - has opted to move the action to the XXI century, leaving the original Victorian aesthetics behind, thus bringing closer to the public the story of Dr. Henry Jekyll: an afflicted man obsessed with discovering the formula to separate good from evil in the human psyche, and who ultimately becomes a victim of his own experiment, causing the birth within him of the evil and ruthless alter-ego Edward Hyde.

Tim Rogers portrays Jekyll and Hyde, presenting an affable Jekyll, immediately empathised by the audience. This is counterpointed by his Hyde, seductive, amoral and violent. Jekyll / Hyde is certainly one of the most intense and complicated male characters in Musical Theatre, requiring great effort and skill, both vocal and dramatic, by the interpreter. Rogers unfolds this difficult task beautifully.

Alongside Rogers are the two female protagonists of the story: Joanna Strand playing Jekyll´s fiancee Emma, and Madalena Alberto playing Lucy, the prostitute who seduces and is seduced by the two personalities of the protagonist. While Strand offers a calm and serene reply to Jekyll, performing her songs with beauty, Madalena Alberto performs her character from a mounting hurricane, destroying all that is before her in all her appearances on stage. Her strength and passion did not go unnoticed by the audience on the opening night, who offered big applause after her main numbers, such as "Someone Like You". Madalena sings with extreme sensitivity and skill.

Joining the three main characters, there are thirteen performers in the ensemble, whose work and commitment offer us a sublime theatrical experience. In addition, the wonderful score composed by Frank Wildhorn is performed live by a band of five musicians amazingly led by Dean Austin, and with impeccable orchestrations written by Tom Curran.

The set of this version of JEKYLL AND HYDE is based on a majorly raw space in which different locations of the story appear and disappear seemingly, due to the great work of the designer Stewart Charlesworth; also supported with precise projections designed by Ben Walden .

JEKYLL AND HYDE is a great piece of musical theatre, and the production presented by Morphic Graffiti proves it in good faith. Any Musical Theatre fan who visits the city of London must see this production, that will be playing at the Union Theatre until 16th June and surely deserves to be transferred to the West End.