5 posts
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Post by East End Theatre Lover on Oct 10, 2017 11:39:58 GMT
Did anyone see Frankenstein when it was at the National a few years ago? It's on at the Bridewell Theatre next week and I wonder if it’s worth seeing. They're not doing the doubling that Benedict Cumberbatch and Jonny Lee Miller did, but looks interesting.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 10, 2017 12:30:31 GMT
I didn't see it live, but I think it's fair to say the adaptation/play itself is considered not the greatest that was ever written? However it's not truly terrible either so if you've never seen a stage version you could do worse than this play in a reasonably priced fringe venue?
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Post by Deleted on Oct 10, 2017 14:24:48 GMT
It's entirely dependent on the cast and the production. The script was an abomination but the people managed to make it work. I still have fond memories of Bruno Poet's lighting (and painful memories of George Harris's performance).
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32 posts
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Post by deadyankee on Oct 10, 2017 21:12:40 GMT
It was a real curate’s egg. Impressive staging at the National and the cast was largely solid but, oh my, the text was borderline embarrassing.
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5 posts
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Post by East End Theatre Lover on Oct 11, 2017 10:00:30 GMT
Ha - thank you. Always good to know what to expect! I've seen some photos on the companies website and it looks like they have got the make-up angle right at least.
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831 posts
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Post by rumbledoll on Oct 11, 2017 10:24:20 GMT
The cast, the doubling, the staging and all the technicalities were what made this production so special. Can't say it's the most ingenious text adaptation, but for me it was funny, poetic and powerful enough (again, maybe it's just everything else but the text). And I loved the focus on Creature as he is the starting point of the story and you see the whole thing through his eyes mostly. The focus is also on the relationship with Victor and how they are mirroring each other. So, I think without doubling it makes much less sense...
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294 posts
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Post by dani on Oct 11, 2017 10:24:46 GMT
I agree with deadyankee. I enjoyed aspects of Danny Boyle's production and seeing the two leads, but Nick Dear's script was very poor. I wouldn't expect much of a fringe revival.
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Post by Deleted on May 27, 2022 18:51:32 GMT
I've just watched the National production on Amazon Prime (both versions) and having never seen it before I'm a bit surprised it got so much love. It was good enough, I enjoyed it, but nothing mind blowing.
Great sets and personally I found Jonny Lee Miller the better monster and frankenstein. I thought he was outstanding.
It's leaving amazon prime soon for any who want to watch it.
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2,058 posts
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Post by Marwood on May 27, 2022 23:08:27 GMT
It’s a long time since I saw this (it was with Cumberbatch as the creature when I saw it) but I really liked it, a great use of the space in the Olivier and the Underworld soundtrack really worked well, it’s a shame Danny Boyle hasn’t done any thing in the theatre since (I asked him after a screening ofTrance which was I just realised, 9 years ago (gulp) and he said he’d like to produce something by Shakespeare so maybe one day)
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Post by Jan on May 28, 2022 11:48:32 GMT
It’s a long time since I saw this (it was with Cumberbatch as the creature when I saw it) but I really liked it, a great use of the space in the Olivier and the Underworld soundtrack really worked well, it’s a shame Danny Boyle hasn’t done any thing in the theatre since (I asked him after a screening ofTrance which was I just realised, 9 years ago (gulp) and he said he’d like to produce something by Shakespeare so maybe one day) He should apply for the RSC job. He was a director there at one time, I remember a gloriously funny production of the Ben Jonson play "The Silent Woman" for example. |
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