Frankenstein, 1 Star

Blackeyed Theatre, in association with South Hill Park, presents

Frankenstein
by Mary Shelley
Touring UK 25th Jan to 22nd March 2017
Greenwich Theatre 7th to 11th Feb 2017Victor Frankenstein – Ben Warwick
Elizabeth Lavenza – Lara Cowin
Henry Clerval – Max Gallagher
The Creature – Louis Labovitch
Robert Walton – Ashley Sean-Cook

Writer John Ginman
Composer Ron McAllister
Director Eliot Giuralarocca
Musical Director Ellie Verkerk
Puppets & Puppetry Yvonne Stone
Set Designer Victoria Spearing
Lighting Designer Charlotte McClelland
Costume Designer Anne Thomson
Education Advisor Danielle Corbishley
Producer Adrian McDougall

“This gripping tale of life and death has been adapted by John Ginman, and will uniquely use Bunraku-style puppetry to portray The Creature. Designed and built by Yvonne Stone (Warhorse, His Dark Materials), the full size 6’4” puppet adds an exciting new dimension to this classic story.

This gothic horror masterpiece fuses bold ensemble storytelling, live music, puppetry and stunning theatricality to create a fresh telling of what has become a landmark work of literature.”

Review by Richard Lambert, 1 Star
With a Set Design that’s a ship’s deck with built-in wooden step ladder to allow access to a poop deck, it was surprising to see this used as an entrance for flash-back scenes of a younger Frankenstein. But this was just the start of many Director choices not normally seen on a professional London stage. With stilted over-acting, script that’s enunciated cos every single word is soooooooooo important, grand arm gestures to emphasise trivial words, accents more akin to Brideshead Revisited than a ship’s crew, this was a very long trudge of a show.

Weird lighting did seem appropriate even though many Cues were late. But I got the point of where it would have gone if Cued correctly. Great costumes. I heard sounds normally reserved for music class at a primary school when the kids are let loose on the instruments to “create” but none of which managed to resuscitate this show.

The Puppet of “The Monster” (Frankenstein is the Scientist, not the Monster) was very good however being so unwieldy that it required 2 actors to ambulate rather took the shine off it.

Running time 125 minutes (including an interval)
Ages 11+
Box Office Tickets are available from individual theatre box office.
Twitter @Blackeyedtheatr, #FrankensteinTour