REVIEW | Frankenstein, Churchill Theatre
★ ★ ★
Reviewer - Penny
*Disclaimer: Gifted tickets in return for an honest review
Mary Shelley’s gothic horror story is a popular choice for adaptation, with countless versions produced for stage and screen over the years. Running at Bromley’s Churchill Theatre ahead of a UK tour, this latest take on the classic novel moves the action to wartime Europe. Adapted and directed by Séan Aydon, it has an original score and a gender swapped Dr Frankenstein.
I liked the decision to have a female Frankenstein at the heart of this production, it was a great change to see female characters in roles other than victims and having a woman as the brilliant scientist also challenged gender norms of the period, tying in with the theme of “otherness” that recurred throughout the play.
Rather than take us to all the locations of Shelley’s original novel, this production uses voice-over and on-stage monologues to tell some of the story. This is effective in condensing a lot of content into a two hour performance, with both Frankenstein and the Creature acting as narrator at times.
As Victoria Frankenstein, Eleanor McLoughlin gives us a rather cold and obsessive character, which contrasted well with her desperation once she finally realises exactly what she has created. It was a little jarring that, having met her Creature, she very quickly got over the initial shock and reverted to scientific speculation and questioning – a frustrating but enlightening insight into the single-minded scientist.
The standout performance for me came from Cameron Robertson as The Creature. It would be very easy to portray him simply as a monster, but through his narration of the Creature’s story, he managed to inject real humanity and emotion into his performance, that made the more monstrous parts of it all the more shocking.
By giving the story a wartime setting, Aydon’s script allowed for the addition of a government-employed doctor, Richter, who, learning of Frankenstein’s creature, wants to invite her to create super humans to “help” with the war, a chilling suggestion. Basienka Blake had a strong authoritive presence in this role and also as the mysterious “Captain” at the start of the play, whose own experiences of human cruelty could have done with some more attention.
After the strong opening scene between the Captain and Frankenstein, that clearly established her character and motivation, we then had an extended scene dealing with family interactions that spent a little too long hammering home the fact that Frankenstein put her research work ahead of personal relationships, with nothing really moving the plot along. The switch to a female Frankenstein did not favour the supporting characters of Frankenstein’s adopted sister and love interest, as they felt rather one dimensional. The play only really came to life with the Creature, towards the end of the first act.
There are frequent references in the play to perfection and attitudes to those who do not meet societal standards. Richter makes the assumption that Frankenstein’s assistant Francine is not good enough to work on such important research because she has dwarfism. A particularly powerful moment comes when Francine, played by Annette Hannah in an impressive professional debut, challenges Frankenstein over her desire to fine tune her “creature” by asking her whether she should also be fine-tuned because she is not perceived as perfect. It’s a thought-provoking way to address the idea of “otherness” which is usually just attributed to the Creature. Frankenstein’s partner, Henry (Dale Mathurin), also faces discrimination because of his skin colour, although this is more of a throwaway remark but just as impactful because of it – this is the norm for him.
The design, by Nicky Bunch, lighting from Matt Haskins and music and sound from Eamonn O’Dwyer are all exceptional. Set mostly in Frankenstein’s austere laboratory and topped and tailed with scenes set in a bleak mountain cabin, the atmosphere is immediately chilling and filled with foreboding. Tension is increased courtesy of the score and sound effects, letting the audience’s imagination do more than any jump scare could achieve.
This is the first stop for Frankenstein’s tour. Whilst there was a little hesitancy at times from some of the actors, I’m sure this will disappear once they have settled into the run. Despite some of the characters being a little under-written and the play’s pace being slightly unbalanced, it’s a thought-provoking and original take on the story, that includes themes of societal acceptance, the human capacity for cruelty, otherness and what is it that makes a monster along with, of course, some good old fashioned scares.
Frankenstein will be touring the UK until November 2023. For more information and tour dates, visit the Tilted Wig website.