Aylesbury Waterside Theatre- until 7 March 2020
Reviewed by Annie Hughes
4****
Mary Shelley’s Gothic masterpiece Frankenstein, dubbed the first ever classic horror story, the first “science fiction”, has been reinvented once again. So when I sat down in my seat last night to watch this latest adaptation by Rona Munro at Aylesbury Waterside Theatre, I could not help thinking sceptically, what could they possibly add to this version that has not already been done before?
Enter Mary Shelley the writer herself played by Eilidh Loan. Portrayed as a fiery, sharp-witted, creative and intelligent woman, this adaptation places the female writer herself at the very centre of her own story. Literally positioned centre stage writing her prose in the opening scene of the play, this is without doubt what I loved most and find most exciting about this adaptation. During the age of Romanticism and Enlightenment in which Frankenstein was written, society was still patriarchal and men dominated largely the arts and science. And even after Shelley’s work was published in 1818 to enormous acclaim, it was still her male protagonists that have been remembered. So how refreshing as a new adaptation, and particularly in today’s modern society, to allow the eighteen year-old female writer Shelley herself to recreate her masterpiece and narrate it in front of our eyes.
And I do not think if the real Mary Shelley had been watching this adaptation, she would have been disappointed. After all, Shelley wrote Frankenstein with the intention of unsettling and horrifying audiences, and that is what this production achieved. The entire cast created this chilling atmosphere with their excellent character portrayals, in particular Ben Castle Gibb as Frankenstein and Michael Moreland as the Monster. Credit should also go to the set and costume designer, Becky Minto, and the lighting designer, Grant Anderson, who together created a chilly, wintery set of whites and greys, which created a sense of dread from the start.
At times I felt that the play would have benefited from longer moments of silence and less shouting from the main characters as this would have increased the level of chill even further across the audience.
That said, Frankenstein offers a night of thought-provoking themes, a powerful nod to female writers and above all a highly entertaining night that will send chills down your spine as Shelley intended it to.