Photos: First Look at National Theatre's Schools' Touring Production of JEKYLL & HYDE

The National Theatre has released production images for its schools touring production of Jekyll & Hyde, as the tour begins across the country.

Directed by Kirsty Housley, the 9-week tour of Evan Placey’s Jekyll & Hyde will be watched by over 10,000 students from 60 state secondary across the country from 9 January – 16 March 2024. For the first time the production will also visit The Lowry in Salford, with two public performances on 12 and 13 January now available to book.

In a reimagining of Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic tale, this new version sees Victorian England merged with the modern day as it explores how the repression of female voices can be as prevalent today as it was in the 19th century. Confronting contemporary social issues such as identity, online personas, culpability and the right to protest, the production aims to bring education beyond the classroom and inspire students to engage with topical issues through the arts. 

In partnership with local theatres, the production will be seen by students in schools across Greater Manchester, Sunderland, Leicester, Stoke, Peterborough, Wakefield, Doncaster, Wolverhampton, Hornchurch and North Devon. The Lowry and Victoria Hall in Stoke will also host performances exclusively for local schools. This will allow the tour to reach as wide an audience as possible and strengthen connections between schools and their local venues. 

The cast includes Sophie Atherton, Philip Bosworth, Wesley Bozonga, Ellie Gallimore, Dan Nash, Angela Jones, Andy Sellers and Lucy Elizabeth Thorburn.  

Costume and set designed by Amanda Stoodley, with lighting designer Joshua Pharo, associate lighting designer Sarah Readman, and Benjamin Grant as sound designer.  

The schools’ tour forms part of the National Theatre’s Theatre Nation Partnershipsnetwork to grow and sustain new audiences for live theatre and create more opportunities to engage in the arts. Our partner theatres include Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch, Theatre Royal Wakefield, CAST in Doncaster, Sunderland Cultureand Sunderland Empire, The Wolverhampton Grand, Curve in Leicester, Landmark Theatres in North Devon and Peterborough, Restoke, Regent Theatre& Victoria Hall in Stoke, Trowbridge Town Hall and The Lowry in Salford.

For more information on the tour, click here.