North West theatre arts company GINIFICENT has released its new film adaptation of the classic Robert Louis Stevenson novella, Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.
Launched at an exclusive premiere screening on September 8th at FACT Liverpool, the new version of Jekyll and Hyde is the first of its kind to remain faithful to the original text and has been produced to support pupils in their 2022 GCSE examinations.
Adapted and directed by Liam Scott, the film was shot during the Covid-19 pandemic, with much of the filming taking place at the Scott family home in Southport, Merseyside.
“We’re thrilled to have launched our new adaptation of Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, which is now available exclusively to schools across the country to help support their GCSE students,” said Clare Scott, managing director of GINIFICENT.
“Over the last four years, we’ve toured over 500 schools, giving live performances of Jekyll and Hyde to students and it’s brilliant to now see the novella on the big screen, continuing to bring the compelling tale to life.
“With many adaptations of the text differing wildly from the original, it was important to us that we stayed true to the plot and characters, providing schools with the best resource possible for their students, whose education has been significantly impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic.
“We’re thankful for the government support which allowed us to adapt to various challenges - namely the bounce-back loan and a grant from the Culture Recovery Fund - without which the production of this vital adaptation wouldn’t have been possible.”
Brendan Connolly, who attended the premiere on behalf of the Everton Heritage Society, said: “This new adaptation is very true to the book and the way it was filmed was very evocative of the Victorian period.
“It represents the book in a clear, understandable way and I think it will be very popular with students who are studying Jekyll and Hyde for their GCSE English Literature examinations.”
The 83-minute-long feature film is now available to purchase, along with a range of educational resources, including cast and crew interviews, lesson plans and videos, revision sheets, and character cards.
Schools wishing to purchase GINIFICENT’s adaptation of Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde can do so by visiting: https://www.ginificent.com/jekyllandhyde