The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, Merchant Adventurers' Hall, York

THEATRE Mill is not a company that rests on its laurels. It's rich and variety back catalogue proves that – Oscar Wilde comedy in York Mansion House, Sherlock Holmes mystery in York Treasurer's House and Ripley Castle and the courtroom drama Witness For The Prosecution in York Council Chamber.

This site-specific company rings the changes with each production with the setting, as director Samuel Wood points out in his programme notes, becoming another character in the show. A combination of play and place puts Robert Louis Stevenson's Gothic horror story in the confines of the "dark, moody, sensual and mystical" (to quote Wood again) Undercroft at Merchant Adventurers' Hall in the heart of York. This is another inspired choice, giving an extra edge to Nick Lane's adaptation of the Victorian tale of two-faced Dr Henry Jekyll/Mr Edward Hyde.

The darkness of the story, as the good doctor turns into a wild beast, is reflected in the Undercroft with its stone floor, beams and wooden columns where all manner of murder and debauchery take place in the poorly lit, foggy gloom.

James Weaver transforms from limping, physically bent Dr Jekyll into aggressive, sexually-charged Mr Hyde before our very eyes without the aid of make-up or prosthetics – and very convincing he is too. He's not a man you'd like to meet in a dark alley or indeed have him commit bloody murder a few feet away from you in a brutally effective slow motion, strobe lighting killing sequence.

Jekyll's magic potion not only brings out the beast in him, but arouses the interest of Viktoria Kay's strongly-drawn singer who becomes his accomplice in this twisted experiment. If anything, the production could do with trimming, with the first half becoming too "talky", but that's a minor quibble in the latest bold undertaking from Theatre Mill.

Runs until Sunday, March 22. Box Office: 01904-623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk

Steve Pratt