DramaNorth East & YorkshireReview

Frankenstein – Darlington Hippodrome

Reviewer: Mark Clegg

Adaptor & Director: Séan Aydon

Based on the Novel by: Mary Shelley

Well over two centuries after its original publication, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein still has the power to provoke thought and chill spines. The titular character and his creation have become a major part of pop culture and as Halloween approaches, it difficult to avoid seeing cartoonish representations of The Creature wherever you go.

This new adaptation presented by Tilted Wig is written (and directed) by Séan Aydon who takes the source material and adds a few new twists in an attempt to freshen up the familiar tale. The biggest of these changes is the gender swap of the main character. Victor Frankenstein becomes Victoria Frankenstein, with Victor’s colleague Henry Clerval becoming Victoria’s fiancé. This change of Frankenstein’s gender is an interesting idea, filled with possibilities regarding motherhood, creating a new life (which women all over the world do every day), the difficulties of parenthood and the relationship between a mother and son. It’s a really thought-provoking idea that unfortunately this adaptation does absolutely nothing with. Instead of using the gender change as a springboard for new ideas and the development of the existing plot, there is no reason why Victor has become Victoria, and with the exception of the name change and a few incidental lines, it isn’t referenced at all. This production is partially sold on the notion of a female Frankenstein and it is wasteful and perhaps a little misleading to have this amount to nothing.

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Outside of this gender swap, Aydon does try and inject some further changes to the story in an attempt to explore the idea of playing God. The story is now seemingly set in Germany during the rise of the Nazis, with Victoria’s work being of extreme interest to the upper levels of government. The word ‘seemingly’ is used as the script very carefully avoids specifics such as dates, nationalities and specific labels. This is understandable in a way, but frustratingly this is a really fascinating idea which Aydon should have leaned into, but which instead is too vague and undercooked to make any real impact. The same can be said of other threads which are touched upon and then almost immediately discarded such as the perception of perfection, nature versus nurture, and the responsibilities of parenthood. Perhaps if the play had a better structure, these ideas could have time to develop. As it is, by clearly wanting the end of act one to be The Creature coming to life, we are presented with a very flabby and slow first act (full of inane chatter about Victoria’s family and weak attempts at light comedy), followed by the rushed (and shorter) second act that needs to fit too much plot into 45 minutes. Annoyingly, Aydon’s adaptation is on the path to being great, but is let down by big ideas being left half-baked due to this flawed structure.

On the positive side, Nicky Bunch’s impressive laboratory set and Matt Haskins’ atmospheric lighting ensure that the Gothic spirit of the piece is well represented. The cast too are mostly excellent even when Aydon’s dialogue is a little stilted. Eleanor McLoughlin presents masses of manic energy and charm as Victoria, allowing her to be a sympathetic figure despite her mistake borne from her obsession, Annette Hannah is excellent as lab assistant Francine although the script doesn’t give her a lot to do, and Lula Marsh brings some much needed effervescent relief to the stage as Victoria’s adopted sister Elizabeth. Cameron Robertson has great physicality as The Creature, but again the script under serves the character, and Basienka Blake brings a very subtle menace to the role of Doctor Richter, representative of a government with big plans for Victoria’s work.

This production raises some big questions and then flatly refuses to answer them. It’s still a solid piece of theatre but ironically for a stage version of Frankenstein, this feels cobbled together with the whole not at all equal to the sum of its (body) parts.

Runs until 21st October 2023

The Reviews Hub Score

Frustratingly Half-Baked

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The Yorkshire & North East team is under the editorship of Jacob Bush. The Reviews Hub was set up in 2007. Our mission is to provide the most in-depth, nationwide arts coverage online.

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