Catherine Bennett resumes the weekly look at the performing arts world, with the sad end of Jerusalem, the luck of a cabbie, and French revolt. Do you hear the people sing?
Adam Alcock reviews Nigel Kennedy playing Vivaldi's Four Seasons and his own Four Elements at York Opera House.
Catherine Bennett highlights the trends in the performing arts world today.
Jonathan Cridford reviews 'Ghosts', one of the Freshers' plays for this year.
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein was resurrected in the National Theatre last night and broadcast live to cinemas all over the country as part of NT Live. Directed by Danny Boyle, the production oozes sophistication and style with sharp use of sound, lighting, costume and set design.
The play begins the birth of the monster as he emerges from the placenta and embarks on the frustrating struggle to find his feet, stand up and walk. Although lengthy, the first scene allows Benedict Cumberbatch to conduct a captivating performance of refined movement, visibly discovering each muscle in his body and attempting to assign each one with a purpose. The role is fairly undignified; his body covered with patches of skin, stitches and scars, dressed in only a skimpy nappy with a bald head writhing around on the floor. Yet Cumberbatch seems to capture what can only be described as a repulsive beauty as the audience are drawn toward empathising with the monster before he himself has developed a personality.
The play touches on all themes that surface in the novel – religion, humanity, feminism, nature and science – yet Boyle seems to have placed the main focus on fatherhood, and the paternal emotions that surround his creation. This is achieved by Cumberbatch and Jonny Lee Miller alternating roles of Victor Frankenstein and his ‘monster’ each night so there is a strong understanding of the two characters. The actors work well in achieving eloquent pace and intense emotional moments in scenes when they are alone. There is a strong similarity in their mannerisms by the end, when Victor is captured by the monster and held hostage deep in the mountains.
Both Lee Miller and Cumberbatch have undergone a great deal of research in developing the physicality, speech and characterisation of the monster. In the short film played before the production began, the audience learn that they observed stroke victims, young mammals and sufferers of Alzheimer’s disease for real-life examples of the rediscovery of how to control the body. Cumberbatch brilliantly achieves the persona of a creature forced into and abandoned in an adult world. He is successful in rapidly developing the character as the years fly by in the play, so there is a distinguished journey that drives the plot with ease through the 135 minute production.
There have been a number of bold directorial decisions made by Boyle, one of which is my only point of criticism. The relationship between Victor Frankenstein and his father (George Harris) was almost entirely unconvincing as their relationship is barely explored. Considering the strongest narrative of the play is the indestructible tie between father/creator and son/creation, and Frankenstein ascribes his lack of true humanity to a sense of alienation from the real world, it makes little sense not to research into how his father may have nurtured this detachment. In addition, Harris gave a rather rigid and strident performance which failed to encourage any empathy for the character particularly after his young son (and later daughter-in-law) are murdered. In this production Boyle also decides to have Elizabeth raped before she is murdered by ‘the monster’. Although this is a slight diversion from the original novel, it works well onstage by adding further desperation to the creation’s longing for love, despite being somewhat perverted.
The set design is vivid and spectacularly fluid in its transitions, involving a revolving dial that gives a consistently angular and interesting perspective of the scenes. Hundreds of various-shaped light bulbs hang above the stage and audience, conducting the magical use of lighting as they frequently flash, glitter and glow at appropriate moments. The message behind this interesting effect is built on mankind’s dependence on electricity, similar to Victor’s obsession with his creation. The score, written by Underworld, complements the play well by adding intense moments of loud outbursts that surprise the audience in the same way the vulnerable monster did.
Viewing a stage production on film gives a new dimension to theatre, and I would highly recommend taking the opportunity by seeing a NT Live screening. The exhilaration of live theatre remains but with the addition of polished camera work that is refined to catch every angle of the action. Danny Boyle has triumphed in his creation of Frankenstein, a highly recommended piece of theatre (that is if you can get hold of a ticket!).
Loved the production exorbitantly, though I saw it the other way around with John Lee Miller as the Monster. Did feel like they ran through the plot a little too quickly, but this is unavoidable really and Boyle certainly paced the whole well so that at least it didn't seem that some parts flew faster than others. Not sure the colour-blind approach really worked - just came as a bit of a confusing jolt to see that Frankenstein (Benedict Cumberbatch in the one I watched) had a black father... I'm all for multiculturalism but that just didn't make sense! Still it was a fantastic performance by all the cast and a really interesting production. I really loved it!
I was hugely disappointed with this production. I thought it melodramatic and clichéd, and they absolutely massacred the novel. The script was embarrassingly emotional at times and they added in certain events that completely change the tone of the story (and diverge from the novel). I thought Harris as the father was absolutely TERRIBLE - I probably have seen a worse actor on a London stage, but none spring to mind right now. Certain effects were too cinematic and an odd choice (like the singing train at the beginning? I thought the whole cast was going to burst into song as if it were Wicked). I wouldn't pay for this again.
But saying that, Cumberbatch and Miller were EXCELLENT. I saw it with Cumberbatch as Victor and Miller as monster, and they both really impressed me (particularly Miller's development of his character throughout the play - there were subtle shifts that meant that at the end of the play, you realised you were seeing a mature and very different creature from the one you saw at the start of the play). Both actors did well with the terrible script.
All in all, a disappointment from NT. Perhaps The Cherry Orchard will be better?
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