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Dr Victoria Frankenstein (Eleanor McLoughlin) and her creature (Cameron Robertson) Frankenstein Malvern Theatres **** Can anything be improved until it is faultless? Delve into the darkest depths of invention and ignite the sparks of creation with this disturbing reimagining of Frankenstein at Malvern Theatres this week. Doctor Frankenstein, Victoria Frankenstein (Eleanor McLoughlin), is intent on her idea of perfection and buries herself in her experiments with Francine (Annettee Hannah), which becomes an obsession to better understand the human form - and flickering life into an unsuspecting mishmash of salvaged body parts and rotting flesh is not the answer. Captain (Basienka Blake) listens to this ungodly narrative as the war rages on. Secrets are hidden from unsuspecting partner Henry (Dale Mathurin) and Sister Elizabeth (Lula Marsh) as Victoria loses all sense of restraint, empathy and morality as she struggles to grieve for her mother. How Henry didn’t question the experiments or become suspicious of Victoria’s mood swings and her slippery journey into the depths of despair is beyond me but the truth eventually rears its malformed head, quoting Shakespeare and surviving on fading memories of a life that wasn’t his to begin with. The Creature (Cameron Robertson) cuts a devastating shadow of a man searching for affection from his mother but being thrown back to the frightening prospect of a lifetime of being alone. All The Creature wanted was to be accepted and loved but Victoria and her heart of lead ignited the catastrophic timeline of destruction, the minute that repulsion forced her neglectful hand to abandonment. Many deaths follow in this crime against nature and the atmosphere could be sliced with a knife in the clinical backdrop designed by Nicky Bunch, subtle lighting by Matt Haskins casts a shadow on the ferocious tale and the unnerving score by Eamonn O’Dwyer sends shivers up your spine as the plot contorts. The Creature quotes from Hamlet, “What a piece of work is a man, how noble in reason, how infinite in faculties, in form and moving how express and admirable, in action and how like an angel, in apprehension how like a god! The beauty of the world, the paragon of animals – and yet, to me, what is this quintessence of dust?” I couldn’t have put it any better myself. Jolt your imagination and awaken your inner monster as Frankenstein, Sean Aydon’s adaptation of Mary Shelley’s classic horror story, quivers your nerve at Malvern Theatres until Saturday November 18th. Tickets cost from £11.20 up to £35.84 with matinees on Wednesday and Saturday. For more information visit Malvern Theatres or call the box office on 01684 892277. After Malvern this Tilted Wig production will creep along from 21st to 25th November for the last leg of the tour at Devonshire Park Theatre in Eastbourne. Discover the real monster lurking in the mirror. Emma Trimble 14-11-23 |
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