Chemical Imbalance: A Jekyll and Hyde Play October 23, 2010

Lauren Wilson's 'Chemical Imbalance' is a darkly comic romp through Robert Louis Stevenson's Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde in snowy Victorian London. The theme of the work is the danger of cultural and social repression and the absurdity of classifying human beings in absolute terms, either good or evil, with us or against us. As in Stevenson's novel, the plot twists around a learned upper class white doctor who experiments with a potion that neatly divides the good and bad sides of human nature. However, his plan goes badly awry and macabre adventures ensue. In Wilson's version of the tale, Victorian London is the seat of a global empire on the verge of collapse, one which relies on several forms of social repression to keep its population under control. As the potion encourages anarchy, social norms disintegrate and repressed impulses erupt in hilarious action. The comedy is not without consequence; blood is spilled, murders committed and the social order is shaken to the unstable premise of its subjugating.