Unlinkely Mary Shelley’s novel, the play is monster-centric. In the 1818 book, the story of the ugly creature brought to life through scientific experiments in chemistry and galvanization is shadowed by the prevailing storyline dedicated to the theme of the overreacher - Frankenstein, the Modern Prometheus - and his unhappy fate. The readers are asked to sympathize with him not as much as with his wretched creature, though he is seen as an outcast and as the evil product of a selfish and prejudiced society. If in Mary Shelley’s gothic tale we are asked to pity the poor innocent creature wronged and made wicked by the rejection of other human beings as well as the ambition-driven genius of Frankenstein , very little pity we are able to feel for the selfish, unaffectionate, delirious scientist on stage. If reading the novel we doubt who the villain or who the victim is, in Nick Dear’s play no doubt is left in front of the unfortunate, moving creature . Benedict Cumberbatch’s performance was heartbreaking at times, from his long opening scene, wordless but so impressive, to the tragic final confrontation with his master in the North Pole.
“At first I knew nothing at all. But I studied the ways of men, and slowly I learnt: how to ruin, how to hate, how to debase, how to humiliate. And at the feet of my master, I learnt the highest of human skills, the skill no other creature owns: I finally learnt how to lie.”
Jonny Lee-Miller and Benedict Cumberbatch
These lines are part of an unforgettable, overwhelming scene: the touching meeting between Elizabeth , Victor Frankenstein’s newly-married wife, and the desperate creature seeking his own revenge on his creator.This is your universe, Frankenstein! , shouts the now totally aware monster after one of his terrible murders. He had been born good, he only wanted to love and be loved, but hatred, abuse and violence was what Frankenstein and other human beings had taught him. And he had been good and quick at learning. He had better them. A warning to our society who gives birth to tragic, wicked beings it totally rejects as its own offspring?
Incredible cast and spectacular staging. Awesome and unforgettable. Don't miss it if you have the chance to see it.