Jekyll Lines

“Start of play”

Observe these two specimens. One brings beauty to the world, the other... well, it draws blood. Yet both spring from the same soil, under the same sun. Now, I pose a question… Although I encourage you to speak, I understand how irritating it is to be required to do so. So, by show of hands, how many of you helped someone in need this week? 

(Several hands go up. Jekyll nods approvingly.)

JEKYLL: Splendid! And how many of you felt irritation when someone walked in front of you, or made you slow down because they weren’t going fast enough?

(More hands, with some nervous laughter.)

JEKYLL: Ah! The same hands. You see? We are all growing both flowers and thorns.

LANYON: Dr. Jekyll, are you equating us to the soil then?

JEKYLL: (walking to the audience) Ah, Dr. Lanyon is sitting in today to make sure I’m not committing heresy in class,eh? Actually Doctor, I’m suggesting we are all roses with thorns! Let me put it another way, in the Times this week I read about a banker who donated thousands to a children's hospital. The second: a thief who stole bread from a local bakery. Who is the better person?

AUDIENCE: The banker.

JEKYLL: (grinning) Ah, what if I told you the banker made his fortune by doubling his interest charges on the poor, while the thief was a teen who shared her stolen bread with other hungry children? Now are we still so certain?

(Murmurs of consideration from the students. He now holds up two beautiful roses, one with thorns, one with thorns, one without.)

JEKYLL: Now observe these two specimens. One brings beauty to the world, and the other... well, it also draws blood. Through grafting techniques, however, horticulturists are beginning to create roses without thorns. The beauty without the danger.

LANYON: (skeptical) Dr. Jekyll, I don’t believe anyone has accomplished this yet. I've heard theories about such grafting, but no confirmed successes.

JEKYLL: (undeterred) Not yet, perhaps, but they routinely graft hardy rootstock to delicate flowering varieties - we create apples that resist disease, roses that bloom longer, fruit trees that thrive where they'd normally perish.

LANYON: You make it sound inevitable.

JEKYLL: Because it is! And if we can accomplish this with roses, imagine what becomes possible when we apply the same principles to human nature itself...

LANYON: (standing) Dr. Jekyll, are you suggesting that morality can be bred out of us, like a thorn from a rose?

JEKYLL: Well, not through biology, of course, but the brain can be by chemicals as we know.

LANYON: You make morality sound like a chemical equation. Surely human nature is more complex than your botanical metaphors suggest.

JEKYLL: (delighted) Dr. Lanyon raises a crucial point! But consider this - what if human nature is exactly like a chemical equation? What if good and evil are simply...components that can be understood, measured, perhaps even... separated?

LANYON: (skeptical but amused) Separated? Like water into hydrogen and oxygen?

JEKYLL: (eyes lighting up) Precisely! Imagine if we could isolate human compassion from human cruelty. Picture a world where we could eliminate evil while preserving the  noble in mankind.

LANYON: But that would make us less... human wouldn’t it?

JEKYLL: (pausing thoughtfully) Would it? Or would it make us more human than we've ever been? Free to be our best selves without the constant war between our angels and our demons.

(He returns to the podium, his passion building.)

JEKYLL: Sorry for the debate, friends, but isn’t that what education should be? Exploring and debating. We stand on the threshold of the greatest discovery in human history. Not mapping continents, but mapping the human soul. Science has given us electricity, cures for disease, and communication across vast distances. Why should the human heart remain beyond our understanding? And someday - perhaps sooner than you think - we will unlock the secret of human duality itself. (he looks up at the glazed over students.) Alright, class dismissed! Remember - next week we'll be discussing the physiological basis of moral behavior. Try to read Chapter Seven in your textbooks. I presume you can read? Now, go. Begone. Dissipate.

LANYON: Henry, Don’t you think your lectures are getting a little too theoretical and theatrical for the classroom? The students do adore you, but the Dean is beginning to ask questions about your... unconventional theories.

JEKYLL: (packing his notes) The Dean lacks vision, Hastie. But mark my words - someday soon, the name Jekyll will be remembered alongside Newton and Darwin.

LANYON: (concerned) Just... be careful, old friend. Some discoveries come with unexpected consequences.

JEKYLL: (clapping him on the shoulder) That's why we make such a good team. Your skepticism keeps my enthusiasm grounded.

LANYON: (wryly) Someone has to.

JEKYLL: (checking his pocket watch) Speaking of which, I must dash. I have some rather important work waiting. Work that may very well change the world!

LANYON: Glad I’m keeping you so grounded.

JEKYLL: To the moon!

UTTERSON: Droll as always, cousin. Good evening.

JEKYLL: Sorry friend. The proportions are just a little off still. A bit more of the salts should create the right ratio for the proper transformation. I'm so close. 

He drops some salts in a vial and immediately it starts to bubble. He pours in liquid and it changes color. 

JEKYLL: That should do it. Yes, I’m sure of it!

He braces himself and drinks the formula. He convulses violently and falls to the floor. He writhes and grabs onto some furniture to steady himself and pull himself to his feet. He doubles over and twists, finally standing upright again, shaken but not transformed. He beats his hand on the desk, crying out. Jekyll looks at his pocket watch that’s fallen on the floor. 

 JEKYLL: Damn it all, late again!

ISABEL: (approaching JEKYLL) Welcome Dr. Jekyll, so nice of you to come. May I trouble you for a scrap of paper.

JEKYLL: (startled as she grabs his notebook, looking up) I beg your pardon?

ISABEL: (to JEKYLL) Surely a gentleman wouldn't abandon a lady in distress?

JEKYLL: (picking up on the situation.) Of course. Sir, if you don’t mind giving us a moment.

WHITMORE: Dr. Jekyll, with all due respect, Miss Enfield and I were having a private discussion—

JEKYLL: It will only take a moment. I need her to write down a special recipe for me. If you don’t mind.

ISABEL: (taking his arm) Dr. Jekyll, isn't it? I don’t think we’ve ever actually spoken. My father speaks highly of your work.

JEKYLL: (surprised) Does he?

ISABEL: Of course he does. Thank you for playing along! That was getting quite unbearable. I’m impressed that you enjoy cooking!

JEKYLL: Cooking?

ISABEL: You wanted a recipe

JEKYLL: Well, I suppose in a way, chemistry is cooking! In fact, today I did need a little more salt!

ISABEL: Well then. Isn’t that serendipity? What were you studying so intently just now?

JEKYLL: (hesitating) Just... observations. Scientific notes.

WHITMORE: (starting toward her) Miss Enfield, that was absolutely—

JEKYLL: Mr. Whitmore, that was magnificent. Please, favor us with another piece. Perhaps a sonata? Beethoven or Chopin perhaps?

ISABEL: (to JEKYLL) Twice in one evening! How galant of you Dr. Jekyll. However, you seemed quite absorbed in your little book during my performance. I'm not sure whether to be offended, or impressed by your dedication.

JEKYLL: Miss Enfield, forgive me. Your singing was... exceptional. I was merely contemplating how to perfect that recipe I spoke about. I almost have it right.

ISABEL: (turning back to JEKYLL, ignoring WHITMORE entirely) So what sort of observations are you making, Doctor?

JEKYLL: (grabbing the notebook back and putting it in his jacket.) Preliminary ones, incomplete ones, the kind one does not share until they are conclusive Miss Enfield.

WHITMORE: Sir, you are hijacking my conversation with the young lady.

JEKYLL: SIR, it would appear your conversation has concluded. Perhaps you’d care to withdraw to the garden with a cigar?

WHITMORE: Until later, Miss Enfield, when you are done being bored to death by this academic, I shall be in the garden with your father. You may find me there, with a suitable cigar.

JEKYLL: He is right, you know, I only have this for show. It’s the cheapest one they had in the shop!

TILLY: Tonight will be better, Fanny. I feel it.

JEKYLL: Who calls?

LANYON: Thank God you're here, Henry. I've been looking everywhere for you.

JEKYLL: Have you now? And why is that, Hastie?

LANYON: You missed your seminar again. That's three in a row. Dr. Morrison is asking questions, and the Dean...

JEKYLL: The Dean can go hang himself for all I care.

LANYON: Henry! What's gotten into you?

JEKYLL: (returning to his work) Clarity, my dear friend. Perfect, crystalline clarity.

LANYON: This... this isn't like you. Missing lectures, avoiding colleagues. And what is all this? (gesturing at the equipment)

JEKYLL: This is the future, Hastie. This is what science should be - bold, revolutionary, unshackled by the timid conventions of academia.

LANYON: Academia that pays your salary and gives you the resources for your research.

JEKYLL: (laughing bitterly) Resources? They give me a pittance and expect me to waste it on their approved little experiments. "Stay within established parameters, Dr. Jekyll. Don't stray too far from accepted theory."

LANYON: Those parameters exist for good reason, Henry. They keep us from pursuing dangerous nonsense.

JEKYLL: Dangerous nonsense? Damn the university and all you theorists who reject anything that strays from convention!

LANYON: Henry...

JEKYLL: You want to know what I'm doing here? I'm about to prove that everything you think you know about human nature is wrong.

LANYON: Henry, listen to yourself. This isn't you talking - this obsession. I've known you since we were students. You were always passionate about your work, but you were also rational, methodical...

JEKYLL: Rational? Methodical? And where has that gotten us, Hastie? Fifty years of the same tired theories, the same limited thinking—

LANYON: It's gotten us respect. Credibility. A place in the scientific community where our work matters.

JEKYLL: (scoffing) The scientific community. A collection of frightened old men clinging to dusty old textbooks.

LANYON: Henry, I'm asking you as your friend - come back to the university. Resume your lectures. Whatever this project is, set it aside before it destroys your career.

JEKYLL: But that's just it, Hastie - this project will make careers irrelevant! (grabbing his arm) Imagine if we could isolate the very essence of human morality. Separate the civilized man from the primitive beast within.

LANYON: That's... that's impossible. Human nature isn't something you can pour into test tubes.

JEKYLL: But it is! I'm so close, Hastie. So close to proving it. Join me! Work with me on this! Together we could—

LANYON: Henry, this is madness. Pure madness.

JEKYLL: Is it? Or are you simply too cowardly to pursue real discovery?

LANYON: Cowardly? Henry, I'm trying to save you from professional suicide!

JEKYLL: Don't bother.

LANYON: (sighing) Alright, Henry. Explain it to me. This theory of yours about separating human nature.

JEKYLL: Finally!. (moving to his notes) The premise is simple - man is not one, but two. The civilized self and the primitive self exist in constant tension.

LANYON: All right, two selves. And you believe you can... what? Divide them?

JEKYLL: Through precise chemical intervention. I've identified compounds that can suppress one aspect while liberating the other.

LANYON: (shaking his head) Henry, even if such a thing were theoretically possible - which it isn't - what would be the point?

JEKYLL: The point? Think of it, Hastie! We could eliminate the darker impulses entirely. Create truly moral beings, free from temptation, from base desires—

LANYON: You're talking about fundamentally altering what God made us to be. The struggle between good and evil within us - that's what makes us human.

JEKYLL: God? This has nothing to do with God. This is science.

LANYON: It's not science, Henry - it's fantasy. Dangerous fantasy. You cannot separate the soul into component parts like... like elements in a compound.

JEKYLL: Why not? What if I told you I've already succeeded?

LANYON: (staring at him) What?

JEKYLL: The transformation is possible, Hastie. I've seen it with my own eyes.

LANYON: What, in rats? You’ve created good rats? Henry, this is... this defies every law of nature, every principle of rational thought. You're chasing shadows, pursuing some... some unscientific balderdash that belongs in a penny novel, not a laboratory.

JEKYLL: Unscientific balderdash?

LANYON: Yes! And if you persist in this madness, you'll destroy not just your career, but your mind as well.

JEKYLL: Damn my career! Here. (He scribbles on a piece of wrapping from a crate) Give them my resignation - tell the Dean I said he can take his precious position and ... (waves dismissively) There. Now I have no career!

LANYON: Henry, please, don't do this. Don't throw away everything you've worked for. Think of your reputation, your standing in the community—

JEKYLL: My reputation? Hang my reputation, once I’ve finished this work there will be no greater reputation than mine.

LANYON: This is Lunacy.

JEKYLL: Lunacy, madness. All great men have been called mad, so count me among them and GET OUT! Get out and take your cowardly conventional thinking with you!

LANYON: Henry, I'm only trying to—

JEKYLL: You're only trying to drag me back into that suffocating world of academic - mediocrity! Well, I'm done with it, Hastie. Done with you, the university, all of it!

LANYON: (backing toward the door) This isn't you talking. This obsession has poisoned your mind—

JEKYLL: (pointing at the door) OUT! And don't come back unless you're prepared to open your mind to real discovery!

LANYON: (quietly, sadly) Goodbye, Henry. I pray someday you'll come to your senses.

JEKYLL: Finally alone. (Goes back to his chemicals.) Just a fraction more... the proportions must be exact this time.

He adds a measure of salts to the vial. The mixture bubbles, changes color.

JEKYLL: (holding up the vial, triumphant) Let this one be perfect. Finally, perfect.

ENFIELD: Of course.Same time next week?

JEKYLL: To the future of science. To the nature of man.

He drinks. Immediately staggers, falls to the floor writhing in pain.

BOTH VOICES: (crying out together) Ahhhhhhh!

ISABEL: Henry, I must say you seem positively transformed today. There's something different about you.

JEKYLL: Do I? Perhaps it's because I'm standing on the edge of something extraordinary, Isabel. As if the whole world is about to change.

ISABEL: My goodness, what's brought this on? Have you made a breakthrough?

JEKYLL: (taking her hands) In a way, yes. But more than that... I feel as though I'm finally seeing clearly. Seeing what truly matters.

ISABEL: And what's that?

JEKYLL: (looking into her eyes) You, for one. This moment. The possibility of a future I'd hardly dared to imagine.

ISABEL: (blushing slightly) Doctor Jekyll, you're being wonderfully romantic, and also rather mysterious.

JEKYLL: Forgive me. It's just that today I feel capable of anything. As if all the barriers blocking my way have simply... dissolved.

ISABEL: (teasing) Barriers What kind of Barriers?

JEKYLL: Ones stopping me from being the man I've always wanted to be, from making the discoveries that could change everything. From.. (hesitating) being able to …

ISABEL: Henry?!

JEKYLL: (quickly) I don't mean to presume anything. I simply mean that for the first time, I feel as though I'm not constantly at war with myself. Does that make sense?

ISABEL: (softly) I think so. You've always seemed so... intense. Driven. Sometimes I wondered if there was room in your life for anything besides your work.

JEKYLL: (taking her hand again) There is. There must be. What good is changing the world if you have no one to share it with?

ISABEL: Your work is that important to you, isn't it?

JEKYLL: (passionate) Isabel, imagine if we could eliminate cruelty, hatred, violence. What if science could free us from our worst impulses?

ISABEL: (thoughtfully) It's a beautiful dream, but aren’t our struggles, even our flaws, part of what makes us human?

JEKYLL: (considering) Perhaps. But surely we're meant to strive for something better? To evolve beyond our baser instincts?

ISABEL: (smiling) Listen to us, debating philosophy. That’s why I love you, Henry. You treat me like an equal, and never stop reaching for something greater.

JEKYLL: (stopping at her garden gate) And that's why I... (pausing) why I care for you so deeply, Isabel. You challenge me to think beyond my theories, to remember that science should serve humanity, not the other way around.

ISABEL: (touching his face gently) You're a good man, Henry Jekyll. Whatever they say about you! (she pushes him away and starts running through the garden.)

JEKYLL: (he grabs her and pulls her to him) People talk. Don’t believe everything you hear.

ISABEL: I won’t if you don’t.  Would you like to come in? Deevers could prepare tea...

JEKYLL: (checking his pocket watch) I'm afraid I have an appointment with Utterson this afternoon.Tedious legal matters. But very soon I hope we will have more time together.

ISABEL: Legal matters?

JEKYLL: Just... ensuring my affairs are in order. A man making important discoveries and decisions should be prepared for any eventuality.

ISABEL: That sounds rather ominous.

JEKYLL: (laughing) Not at all! Quite the opposite, actually. I'm simply making certain that my work can continue no matter what obstacles may arise.

ISABEL: Well, then. Don't keep Mr. Utterson waiting.

JEKYLL: Until this evening? Your father sent an invitation to dinner...

ISABEL: (brightening) Yes! A small gathering. You must promise to leave that notebook of yours at home this time.

JEKYLL: (grinning) I promise you'll have my complete attention. No distractions, no work. Just us.

ISABEL: (skeptically) We'll see about that, Dr. Jekyll.

JEKYLL: You will. I give you my word.

UTTERSON: Henry! Good. Have a seat. I would like to go over these changes to your will.

JEKYLL: Excellent. Let’s have them, then.

UTTERSON: Henry, I must say these proposed changes to your will are... highly irregular.

JEKYLL: (stopping his pacing) Irregular how?

UTTERSON: (takes the papers from Jekyll. Reading from the document) " in the case of Dr. Jekyll's death, disappearance or unexplained absence for any period exceeding three calendar months,' the said Edward Hyde should step into the said Henry Jekyll's shoes without further delay and free from any burden or obligation, beyond the payment of a few small sums to the members of the doctor's household"

JEKYLL: (impatiently) Yes, that's what I dictated. Is there a problem with the language?

UTTERSON: The problem isn't the language, Henry. It's the implications. What circumstances are you anticipating that would cause your... disappearance?

JEKYLL: (dismissively) One must plan for all contingencies, Utterson. Science can be... unpredictable.

UTTERSON: Henry, in all our years of friendship, you've never once mentioned this Edward Hyde. Who is he? How do you know him?

JEKYLL: (evasively) He's... someone who has become important to me. That should be sufficient.

UTTERSON: Sufficient? You're leaving your entire estate to a complete stranger!

JEKYLL: He's not a stranger to me.

UTTERSON: (standing, agitated) But he is to everyone else who cares about you! Henry, do you understand what this will means? If you disappear for three months - not die, mind you, just disappear - this Hyde fellow inherits everything. Your house, your practice...

JEKYLL: Yes! That is exactly what I intend.

UTTERSON: You intend to disappear?

JEKYLL: I intend to be prepared for all possibilities. (moving toward him) Utterson, you are my oldest friend, my most trusted confidant. Surely you can trust that I am of sound mind and know exactly what I'm doing.

UTTERSON: Sound mind? Henry, this sounds like the preparation of a man planning to... to flee the country, or worse.

JEKYLL: Then perhaps you don't know me as well as you thought.

UTTERSON: Henry…

JEKYLL: The will stands as I've dictated it. Thank you for handling this so promptly, John. I do hope this business hasn't delayed me too much - I'm expected at Enfield's for dinner this evening.

UTTERSON: (still troubled by the will) Enfield's dinner party? Yes, yes. I received an invitation, but I won’t be able to make it, pressing business.

JEKYLL: (brightening) Oh, come! It's been ages since we've had a proper social evening. Isabel sings beautifully, and Richard always has the most excellent food.

UTTERSON: Henry, please. I'm begging you to reconsider. As your friend, as your lawyer - this will is madness.

JEKYLL: (pausing, his expression softening slightly) Utterson...

UTTERSON: Whatever trouble you're in, whatever this is about, we can find another way. Don't sign your life away to a stranger.

JEKYLL: (turning back, more gently) My dear friend, I know this seems... alarming. But I assure you, I am in complete control of the situation.

UTTERSON: (softening) Henry, you're frightening me.

JEKYLL: (moving to him, placing a hand on his shoulder) It’s fine. Everything I'm doing has been carefully considered. The will is simply... insurance.

UTTERSON: Insurance against what?

JEKYLL: (pausing) Against the unexpected. Please, just draft the will as I've requested. And trust me.

UTTERSON: (reluctantly gathering his papers) Against my better judgment... I'll finalize the documents. Henry... if you ever need help...

JEKYLL: I know where to find you. John, you've been such a loyal friend. Perhaps tonight would be a good opportunity to... well, to explain more about my work in a relaxed setting… if you can make it.

MS. GUEST: (holding up the documents) I'm afraid not, sir. The disputed signature appears to be Mr. Whitmore's, but there are irregularities. If we can't authenticate it by close of business, the entire transaction will collapse.

JEKYLL: Of course. Business must take precedence. (gathering himself) I should be going anyway.

UTTERSON: Henry…

JEKYLL: Another time, perhaps. Good  afternoon to you both.

ENFIELD: I hope you enjoyed dinner tonight Jekyll. It’s good to see you outside the confines of your lab.

JEKYLL: Indeed. It was exquisite, as was the company! 

He smiles at Isabel, who smiles back coyly. 
JEKYLL: Thank you for your hospitality, truly, but now I must get back.

ISABEL: Henry, you promised.

JEKYLL: (Shows his empty pocket) No notebook!

ENFIELD: Come now, Jekyll, surely your work can wait one evening. We’ve seen little enough of you as it is.

JEKYLL: (forced smile) Of course. You're quite right.

ISABEL: I've been reading about your research in cellular regeneration. The article in the Medical Journal was fascinating.

JEKYLL: (surprised, pleased) You read medical journals?

ISABEL: (laughing) Only to men who prefer their companions decorative rather than engaged.

JEKYLL: The article only covered the preliminary work. The real breakthrough requires... different approaches.

ISABEL: (noticing his change in tone) Different how?

JEKYLL: (hesitating, then catching himself) Nothing that need concern... (stops, realizing how that sounds) I mean, nothing that's ready for public discussion yet.

ISABEL: (after a moment) Now that we're alone, Henry... what's actually going on?

JEKYLL: Nothing's ‘going on’.