Following its world premiere at the Edinburgh International Film Festival in August 2023, this film version of The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde will be shown at selected cinemas in Scotland and UK.
Based on the original 19th century novella by Robert Louis Stevenson, this version has been reworked for contemporary audiences by director Hope Dickson Leach and co-written with Vlad Butucea. It is part of the National Theatre of Scotland’s growing On Screen programme which includes content for digital platforms and broadcast.
Shot in black and white on location around Edinburgh., The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde was filmed largely within the atmospheric setting of Edinburgh’s historic Leith Theatre, where it was originally presented in February 2022 as a performed live, filmic experience. It features a cast of leading Scottish stage and screen talent including Lorn Macdonald, Henry Pettigrew, David Hayman, Peter Singh, Alison Peebles and Tam Dean Burn. The film’s music is provided by DJ and music producer Hudson Mohawke and composer Hutch Demouilpied.
The drama follows Gabriel Utterson as he enters a world of dark duplicity to uncover the identity of the mysterious Mr Hyde and the hold he has over Utterson’s old friend Dr Jekyll.
In this version, Utterson’s journey is set against the background and backdrop of Victorian Edinburgh, where the wealth of the breweries is contrasted with the poverty of the Cowgate Vaults, exposing an underbelly of darkness and corruption. Concerned by his good friend Dr Henry Jekyll’s recent behaviour, Utterson is driven to uncover the identity of the mysterious and dangerous Mr. Hyde, to whom Jekyll is enthralled.
The film is distributed in cinemas by Cosmic Cat and supported by Garfield Weston Foundation, Sir Ewan and Lady Brown, The Foyle Foundation, The Britford Bridge Trust, The William Syson Foundation, The Woolbeding Charity.
Screen Scotland’s support is funded through the Scottish Government and The National Lottery.
Selected cinema screening October dates:
7th Dundee Contemporary Arts
14th Firstsite, Colchester
19th Firstsite, Colchester
20th Phoenix, Oban
22nd Glasgow Film Theatre with Cast and Crew Q&A
27th Cameo, Edinburgh with Cast and Crew Q&A
27th Dukes, Lancaster | 13:45 & 18:30
28th Eden Court Inverness
28th Alhambra, Keswick
28th Bo’ness Hippodrome
28th Norden Farm Centre for Arts
29th Alhambra, Keswick
29th Dukes, Lancaster
Broadcast on Sky Arts freeview at 9pm on 30th October.
Irene Brown
Radio Summerhall Arts 