Co-Directors: Conrad Murray & David Cumming
Presented by BAC Beatbox Academy,Frankenstein: How To Make a Monsteris an innovative and far from monstrous reimagination of the classic gothic tale. Bursting onto the stage at Contact Theatre in a dynamic explosion of poetry, music and theatre, the show draws an interesting parallel between the treacherous man-made creature of Mary Shelley’s nineteenth century novel and the impact and potentially similarly insidious effects of social media, internet bullying and cancel culture in the present day.
It’s powerful, punchy and poetic when it sticks to the original material, but the beatbox covers of existing tunes feel a bit hackneyed, a frittering of the talent contained onstage. It’s only ten minutes or so in, with the switch to original lyrics and brand new sounds, that the audience gets to see the true life, power and passion of this six strong cast, and strong they are. Stand-out performances come from cast members Aziza and ABH, the latter of which is the current (and clearly well deserved) holder of the title of UK Beatboxing Champion courtesy of his seemingly superhuman vocal abilities.
If you’re up for a traditional retelling of the gothic masterpiece, you’d be best off giving this a miss, but if you’re keen to see fresh exciting musical talent showcased in an innovative theatrical form, then this might well be the show for you. If there’s a piece of advice for future development of this piece and for directors and BAC Beatbox Academy Founders Conrad Murray and David Cumming, it’d be to chuck the covers in the bin and give audiences a big extra beat of the new stuff.
Runs until Saturday 14 May
The Reviews Hub Score
Powerful, punchy and poetic
