THE HANGOVER REPORT – Nick Dear’s stage adaptation of FRANKENSTEIN is jolted by a visceral staging and ample star-power

Benedict Cumberbatch and Jonny Lee Miller in the National Theatre's production of "Frankenstein" adapted for the stage by Nick Dear.

Benedict Cumberbatch and Jonny Lee Miller in the National Theatre’s production of “Frankenstein” adapted for the stage by Nick Dear.

One of the National Theatre’s biggest successes in its recent history was Nick Dear’s 2011 stage adaptation of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. Although it’s been nearly a decade since the show wowed London audiences, it’s only now – thanks to the coronavirus lockdown – that I’ve been able to sink my teeth into the production (via NT at Home’s free weekly online streaming). Much of the production’s fanfare had to do with the decision to cast film star Benedict Cumberbatch, who alternated playing the roles of Dr. Frankenstein and the Creature. Playing opposite Mr. Cumberbatch in the same roles was Jonny Lee Miller, an equally fine, but very different kind of actor.

In terms of the text, I would say that the adaptation by Mr. Dear is serviceable. The playwright brings an efficiency to the storytelling and a contemporary sociological awareness to Ms. Shelley’s novel that mostly works but at times borders on didactic. Happily, the gothic elements of the tale remain sturdily in place. Mr. Dear also incorporates Shakespearean overtones (e.g., the Creature is a sort of combination of Othello, Richard III, and Caliban) that aid in theatricalizing the well worn story. But despite my decidedly lukewarm feelings about the text, I found the overall theatrical experience terribly exciting. Indeed, the staging and the aforementioned star-power jolt the intermission-less production to life. Director Danny Boyle (most noted for directing films such as the seminal Trainspotting) is not one to shy away from visceral thrills, and his work on Frankenstein is no exception. His intense, sensory production is at once cinematic yet highly theatrical (kudos especially to the lighting and sound design team), an approach which works particularly well in the early that scenes chart the Creature’s initial discoveries and subsequent education.

But the question du jour I’m sure is how the two headlining actors fare in their alternating lead roles. There’s been precedent to this theatrical “gimmick”. In 2000, the late Philip Seymour Hoffman and John C. Reilly took turns playing the feuding brothers in the Main Stem revival of Sam Shepard’s True West. Then there were Cynthia Nixon and Laura Linney swapping nights in the radically different roles of Regina and Birdie in MTC’s 2017 revival of The Little Foxes by Lillian Hellman.  Both Mr. Cumberbatch and Mr. Miller are excellent actors. I would say that Mr. Miller’s brutish, guttural acting style is the more obvious fit for the Creature, and that Mr. Cumberbatch’s cool, aristocratic air suits Dr. Frankenstein more ideally. But there are benefits to switching roles. Mr. Cumberbatch brings a poetic quality and touching self-awareness to the Creature that’s somewhat harder to find in Mr. Lee’s hurly-burly interpretation. Likewise, Mr. Miller brings a masculine brashness to Dr. Frankenstein that casts a distinctly different light on the proceedings.

RECOMMENDED

 

FRANKENSTEIN
Theater
National Theatre / NT at Home
2 hours (without an intermission)
Streaming through May 8

Categories: Theater

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