THE York Orchard Musical Theatre Company will present their inaugural production, Jekyll & Hyde: The Musical, from next Wednesday to Saturday at the Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York.

Set up last December as an amateur theatre group by Justine Hughes and Will Jackson, the company will aim to produce two shows a year, kicking off with Justine's staging of Frank Wildhorn, Steve Cuden and Leslie Bricusse's musical thriller, which made its Broadway debut in 1997.

The show is adapted from Robert Louis Stevenson's 1886 novella The Strange Case Of Dr Jekyll And Mr Hyde, wherein London lawyer Gabriel John Utterson investigates strange occurrences between his old friend, Dr Henry Jekyll, and the evil Edward Hyde. As two love interests from different backgrounds, Lucy Harris and Emma Carew, enter the fray, the story explores the difference between good and evil and how each affects all those involved.

Justine Hughes combines the roles of director and designer, while the choreography is jointly in the hands of Justine and Rachel Dennison and Ben Papworth is the musical director.

Rob Fisher plays the dual role of Henry Jekyll and Edward Hyde; Beth Stevens will be Lucy Harris and Megan Conway, Emma Carew. Rob and Beth have performed chorus roles in productions at York Theatre Royal and Grand Opera House and are studying A-Levels in York. Megan has just inished a degree in writing, directing and performing at the University of York.

Joshua Eldridge-Smith, an A-Level student at York College, will be on investigative duty as lawyer Gabriel John Utterson.

Tickets for the 7.30pm performances on July 1 to 4 are on sale at £12, concessions £10, at ticketsource.co.uk/theyorkorchardmusicaltheatrecompany or on the door each night from 7pm.