Jekyll and Hyde the musical, The Mayflower, Southampton

Robert Louis Stevenson's classic tale of the dichotomy of the human condition isn't your usual fodder for a musical, and in this case it shows.

This gothic novel does not translate easily to the stage, and the passion of the story is lost amid the songs.

Completely lacking in any sort of eerie atmosphere and with some very corny lyrics, this was the musical equivalent of a particularly low-budget Hammer horror film.

Paul Nicholas, bravely battling on with a throat infection, gave an interesting performance as Jekyll/Hyde.

The transformation to Mr Hyde simply involved messing his hair up, donning a hat and hunching over a little - not at all hi-tech, and all rather am-dram.

Despite this, the music was wonderful and the production was very slick. Louise Dearman gave the most impressive performance as Lucy, and her vocal talents make up for Jekyll and Hyde's failings.