Show: Frankenstein
Society: Wild Goose Theatre
Venue: Arts at the Old Fire Station. 40 George Street, Oxford OX1 2AQ
Credits: By Mary Shelley. Adapted by Billy Morton
Type: Sardines
Author: Frank Kaye
Performance Date: 04/02/2023
Frankenstein
Frank Kaye | 07 Feb 2023 01:57am
This is my first time at this theatre in Oxford and what a joy it has been. Billy Morton is the writer, director and co-producer and he has created a remarkable piece of theatre which, in turn, was brilliantly acted by the nine members of the cast.
The key to understanding the play is the device of “frame narrative” which provides a context – in this case the captain and his desk where Frankenstein retreats when not part of the story – in which to enact other stories. The beginning of the play, before Frankenstein arrives sets the context and this is re-enacted at the end and further emphasised by the voice of the real monster. Billy Morton, (whom I have just realised is also the aforementioned!) played Captain Walton, who brilliantly frames the play through his performance at the beginning and end of the play.
The physicality of the acting space is also a key device. The captain’s area is set through a doorframe on board a ship. Immediately outside this door is a huge sail which is transformed twice during the play into a shroud behind which the monster is created. In front of the sail is the main acting space which is used by the cast to great effect. They use chairs and logs and go into the two walkways between the audience to enact many different moments.
Another key device is the use of sea shanties which are performed both on stage at the beginning and the end and also off stage at various moments throughout the play. This allows the audience to embrace the story without being rushed.
This play was written 200 years ago and it is almost beyond comprehension that it can still be so powerful. In this case the credit must go to Billy Morton for keeping the audience’s attention. This comment is only once undermined, and this is the length of the first act where even the most enthusiastic audience members started to lose focus.
The cast were constantly stimulating the audience’s attention, shifting attention by flicking between characters and even creating new ones using a piece of cloth as a baby and then a young man. There were two men, Peter Todd and Richard Readshaw, and three young women, Grace Olusola, Victoria Greenfield and Beth Burns, who endlessly reframed the theatrical moment with new characters and in the second half in particular got laughs through this creativity. Grace Olusola was amazing as she appeared as both man and woman. The other two women had great fun displaying an array of characters. Peter Todd demonstrated an ability to show both deep feeling and entertaining light heartedness. Richard was narrower in range but provided an important solidity to this fascinating portrayal of the world of Frankenstein.
So, to the main protagonists of this exposition of a terrifying world of murder and mayhem. Frankenstein was played by Craig Finlay who maintained an almost continuous high pitched, frantic mood where he and the audience were constantly kept in a state of anxiety for whatever may happen next. The monster was played by Edward Blagrove and spent much of the play frustrated at his attempts to find friendship – when he wasn’t murdering people!
Frankenstein is shown becoming a man from the earliest moments of his birth. It is only when he is at university that he uses electricity to create the monster. Craig connects with the audience to create a sense of being out of control. Meanwhile Edward, as the monster, parades about the stage showing the joins where he has been pieced together by Frankenstein. His performance captures the contrast between his murderous and his ordinary person personae.
This performance is essentially a huge success for a play written two hundred years ago and presented essentially in its original form. Whilst the set is relatively simple, the play is long and complex, requiring a sense of balance to keep the audience involved. The second act is a triumph, achieving an exciting sense of tumbling towards a conclusion. That conclusion is provided by Ralph Ineson who provides the voice of the Real Monster in a way that gradually captures our attention. The show ends with a final sea shanty and the cast take a well-deserved bow acknowledging the input from others as they indicate the technical people up above.