Chemical Imbalance - an original comedy of horrors at the EXIT Theatre in San Francisco

Chemical Imbalance - an original comedy of horrors at the EXIT Theatre

Back by popular demand after its SOLD-OUT RUN in 2006, “Chemical Imbalance” returns for a limited engagement at the EXIT Theatre!


“Chemical Imbalance” - an original comedy of horrors by Lauren Wilson
Based on Robert Louis Stevenson’s “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde”

Presented by Precarious Theatre, directed by Matthew Graham Smith

Featuring: Elizabeth Bullard (AEA), Christian Cagigal, Andrew Calabrese, Erin Carter, Gabriel Diamond, Ben Dziuba, Hannah Knapp, Nicole Lungerhausen, Sarah Meyeroff

March 8 - April 7, 2007; Thursdays through Sundays at 8 PM

The EXIT Theatre (156 Eddy St. @ Taylor, San Francisco 94102)

TICKETS: Thursdays: Pay-what-you-can; Fridays-Sundays: $15-30 (cash only at the door)

BOX OFFICE: (415) 563-5085 and http://www.precarioustheatre.com


“Chemical Imbalance” is an original play by Lauren Wilson based on Robert Louis Stevenson’s “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.” In this comedy of horrors, director Matthew Graham Smith, a core member of the Dell’Arte Company, leads a dynamic ensemble of nine comic actors in the highly stylized conventions of farce and Grand Guignol (a theatrical genre akin to cinema’s splatter-film). This manic journey through Dr. Jekyll’s dilemma is an outrageous comedy that teeters between macabre horror and fast-paced comic slapstick. It is a winning combination that has been described as “Rousing horror-farce… Chemical Imbalance has a clever script, creative direction and lighting, and an accomplished cast. The whole package comes through with both laughs and terror” (Laurie Bushman, SF Bay Times).

As in Stevenson’s novel, the plot twists around a learned upper class doctor who experiments with a potion that neatly divides the good and bad sides of human nature. In Wilson’s version of the tale, Victorian London is the seat of a global empire on the verge of collapse - one that relies on several forms of social repression to keep its home population under control while the empire expands. As Dr. Jekyll’s potion encourages anarchy, social norms disintegrate and repressed impulses erupt into hilarious action. The comedy is not without consequence. Blood is spilled; social order is shaken. Murder, mayhem, and crumpets abound in this romp about an empire on the edge of destruction and a man on the brink between aristocracy and depravity.

“Chemical Imbalance” is performed by a forceful ensemble of actors that the SF Bay Times described as “hilarious,” “remarkably fluid,” and “spot-on.” Many of the actors from the 2006 production are reprising their roles for this run. Precarious Theatre features the talents of Elizabeth Bullard, Christian Cagigal, Andrew Calabrese, Erin Carter, Gabriel Diamond, Ben Dziuba, Hannah Knapp, Nicole Lungerhausen, and Sarah Meyeroff.

Categories: Performing Arts

This event repeats weekly Thursday through Sunday until April 7, 2007: