Frankenstein | Wharf 2LOUDBenjamin Winspear & Yael Stone. Photos Emma Furno.

slideshow.gifSlideshow

Frankenstein
is a quiet little corker of a play, which uses open theatricality in concert with some inventive design, a little illusion, somewhat absurdist moments and several sidesteps into the musical genre. Constructed without an initially finished text as a collaboration between playwright Lally Katz, composer Stefan Gregory (of Faker fame) and acclaimed designer come first-time director Ralph Myers, this “laboratory theatre” approach has bubbled forth with some interesting results. The cast is limited to only two key performers, although Katz and Gregory both appear on stage in small supporting roles, and they and other crew members also wander off and on in an undisguised manner to move scenery or announce scenes by carrying on large title cards.

The major strength of all this is its extreme simplicity, telling Mary Shelley’s famously gothic tale in the simplest, most stripped-back way imaginable, reducing the action to core concepts of character motivation and interrelation, with dramatic events taking place offstage and their emotional impacts being privileged over their actual occurrences. Rather than see Frankenstein’s Monster kill Victor Frankenstein’s family members in front of us, we merely hear the two of them discuss the fact that it has happened. Rather than dramatic action everything takes the form of either conversation or song, always with the sole intent of expressing character rather than the intricacies of plot.

Evidently a cornerstone of Katz and her collaborators’ approach to this material is an engagement with Shelley’s own inversion of the expected main roles, portraying the Monster as a tragic character of abused innocence while its “father” Frankenstein is rendered as empty, heartless and altogether less human than his creation. Presumably as a device to exaggerate this disparity, Benjamin Winspear portrays a roughly conventional Frankenstein dressed in period-evoking coat tails, while by comparison the Monster is drastically cast against type with a pretty, petite actress in the role, one Yael Stone. Wearing a simple singlet and gym shorts and standing more than a head shorter than Winspear, Stone’s Monster is the antithesis of the hideous, towering shuffler of popular memory, and is equally at odds with Frankenstein’s own repeatedly spiteful descriptions in the play.

The effect of this is obvious, as it completely short-circuits any conception of the Monster as a repulsive or intrinsically malevolent being. Even when she (he/it? – the character’s cross-cast gender is not openly acknowledged by the spoken text) reveals that she has murdered Frankenstein’s loved ones, her puppy-dog need for attention and matter-of-factness in reporting her actions still seem far less appalling than they should be, and somehow appear more human than the almost uncaring ennui of her creator, who seems to spend the entire play doing nothing other than sulking.

Given the play’s idiosyncratic take on both theatremaking and its treatment of a classic novel, reactions to the piece are likely to be similarly individualised. I found myself enjoying the show considerably, much against my expectations, while my companion found it at times annoying and indulgent.

With strong yet pleasingly understated performances from its two leads, the strength of the show lay in its unwavering focus on the Monster and her emotional journey from newborn to tragic solitude, and the economy with which this story was told, mixed with the judicious use of some uniquely theatrical staging techniques.

Frankenstein is probably not a show that will thrill or shock you with either brilliant inventiveness or searing emotional force. It is, however, a distinctly different, absorbing and thought-provoking take on a very familiar classic, and an excellent example of short, experimental theatre.


a Wharf 2LOUD show
FRANKENSTEIN
by Ralph Myers, Lally Katz and Stefan Gregory

Director Ralph Myers

Venue: Wharf 2, Sydney Theatre Company | Pier 4, Hickson Road, Walsh Bay
Dates: 2 – 13 December 2008
Evenings: Tuesday-Saturday at 8.15pm. Twilight: Monday 8 at 7pm
Matinees: 6 and 13 December 2.15pm
Tickets: Adults: $35 Concession: $22 Full time Student: $20 Under 30: $20
Bookings: (02) 9250 1777 sydneytheatre.com

Related Articles

Power Plays | Sydney Theatre Company Power Plays | Sydney Theatre Company
Power Plays is an entertaining exercise in short-form theatremaking along a centralised theme, even if none of the individual pieces are especially memorable. Photo – James GreenWriting short...
Witches of Wicked | Sydney Symphony Orchestra Witches of Wicked | Sydney Symphony Orchestra
While you might be forgiven for expecting otherwise, this is not however a concert version of Wicked, although as it is the common thread between the stars. Left – Lucy Durack, Amanda Harrison,...

Most read Sydney reviews

Piano Mill’s success has been due to it offering an alternative means of experiencing fresh,...


Real estate is just dirt, when you boil it right down, and Mamet’s pedlars of property sure are...


Loved up in lock down lasts as long as the first knock down in Videotape.


The behaviour of the men is misogynous. The behaviour of men in authority menacing. The...


Proof that Shakespeare can shake up lives and his plays hold a mirror to life, The Twins sees...