The story of Frankenstein was originally a book written by Mary Shelley. It has since seen several stage productions, and Danny Boyle and Nick Dear’s production, released in 2011 is a favourite of mine. Usually favouring musical theatre over standard plays, I enjoyed this production surprisingly much. Boyle, who directed and Dear, who wrote the script, had such a unique and original way of telling the story that really stood out and made the story seem new, with its own messages to tell to its audience.
To begin, this production focussed more on the creature’s story than on that of Frankenstein himself. Even in the original story, there is supposed to be a certain level of compassion and empathy for the character of the creature, but by showing the story from his own perspective, this production gives him more of a voice and makes you understand better why he makes his decisions throughout the story. The opening scene particularly looks into this, depicting the original creation of the creature and his first view of the world, almost like that of a baby. It’s interesting to see the story from this perspective, since it becomes all the more clearer how barbaric it is that he has been brought into the world just to be met with hate.
Another interesting thing that this production focussed on was the comparison between Frankenstein and his creation, and the fact that they are both very similar people deep down, it’s just that Frankenstein has the power in the relationship. This similarity and merging of the two characters was shown in this production by the actors playing the two switching each night. On one night Benedict Cumberbatch would play the Creature and Jonny Lee Miller would play Frankenstein and on the next Cumberbatch would play Frankenstein and Miller the Creature. This meant that the performances were much more refreshing each night and each of the actors could understand the motivations of both characters meaning they could adjust their performances around this.
The set design for this production was also well thought out and the direction was clearly very distinctive and interesting, as is the norm for a Danny Boyle production, also known for several award-winning films and the Olympics Opening Ceremony. He has worked in theatre in the past, but this is his first theatre production in a while. The direction and choreography was however, extremely well designed and he has clearly not lost his flair for work in the theatre as well. The movement and vocal style of the creature were also particularly interesting to watch and must have required a great deal of work from the actors. There was also a distinctive style that was carried through the show consistently from the beginning to the end, making the audience at home in this version of the world.
Though the play is sadly no longer showing in theatre, National Theatre have in the past screened it to cinemas across the UK and this may reoccur. National Theatre Live screen lots of great production live to cinemas all the time, so if you don’t want to miss a chance to see more great productions just like this one, it might be worth a visit to their website.
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