Sacrebleu! The darkness approaches! And with it the promise of danger. On the streets of Adelaide-lieu-London, the tormented Dr Jekyll tries to expunge his darker impulses through the concoction of a special potion. This separates his darker self into an alternate ego Mr Hyde, a megalomaniac determined to cause havoc and chaos wherever he goes. Cue much screaming, flailing and spontaneous song numbers as the colourful cast of A Slightly Isolated Dog tries to weed out the cunning villain and end his reign of terror once and for all.

Upon entry to this comic caper, every showgoer is greeted by the five highly animated and highly French members of the eclectic theatre troupe (why are they French? Does it really matter?). Between delivering their quick-witted dialogue and one punchline after another, they traipse around and chat up the crowd as though they are regular citizens with stakes in the eccentricities surrounding them. On top of narrating and inhabiting various characters across the performance, each of the five takes turns shuffling between the titular Jekyll and Hyde characters, effortlessly switching without a pause for breath. The scene changes and improvisation flies thick and fast, and the cast engages with increasingly ludicrous hijinks as the story progresses. It’s pure nonsense, and the audience was in for every second of it. 

If the actors’ improvisation skills weren’t enough, their crowd work is especially top-notch.

The audience participation was exceptionally good on this night. Somehow every prompt and suggestion from the cast went off without a hitch. The prop work and scripted dialogue each unsuspecting audience member was invited to partake in delivered hilarity in spades. Whether stretching a layer of fabric over the audience to enshroud them in “fog”, or getting a random guy to punch through a paper wall and stick his head through, the visual gags are raw, potent fun.

Jekyll and Hyde is a gleeful lampooning of the classic literary tale, one that breathes new life into an old story of duality and the darker side of humanity. The performers revel in the silliness and never miss an opportunity to milk the scenery and humour to its full potential. It’s delightfully chaotic and supremely fun. There's never a dull moment and you’re guaranteed to be hooked from start to finish in the hysterically immersive madness.

***** Five Stars