Frankenstein
Mark Brandi
Horror, sexual violence, incest and nudity are all graphically on show in an unnerving performance. But there is more to it than shock value.
Viktor Frankenstein (Mary Helen Sassman) is desperate to produce a child and by any means. What she creates is a grossly deformed Monster that not even a mother can love. Shunned by its creator, the Monster (Jane Montgomery Griffiths) craves comfort and belonging, but is rejected, objectified and isolated by all. Pushed to the edge, it makes a violent demand for happiness.
This re-imagining of Mary Shelley’s early nineteenth-century novel identifies more closely with the darker moments of the original text than the comic book style often seen in cinema. For those who prefer the schlock-horror adaptations of Frankenstein, made and remade a thousand times on screen, it may prove challenging.
The action takes place in a large, high-walled room, the floor covered in black water balloons. In one corner, a large black womb hangs from the ceiling, while a black, inflatable wading pool is in another.
It is a foreboding set.
The overall aesthetic and atmosphere owes much to cinema and is reminiscent of David Lynch’s Eraserhead, while there are also references to Kubrick’s The Shining, musical strings from Psycho, and the infamous ‘spider-walk’ scene from the Director’s Cut of The Exorcist.
This is a highly physical production dominated by shrill screeches, bright strobe lights and actors who are willing to take theatre into dark territory. There are many confronting moments, but also humour, electronica and high-energy dance scenes. Something for everyone? Maybe.
The story relies on physical interaction more than dialogue, although moments of soliloquy work well to frame the narrative. Frankenstein’s lecherous brother (David Paterson) evokes Captain Ahab from Moby Dick, a reference that is given too much time early in the production. Such scenes with just one character on stage tend to slow the pace and tension, as the production works best with its physical interplay.
The Monster is a tragic figure who captures the sympathy of the audience, while Frankenstein’s adopted daughter (Emily Milledge) is also isolated by her own sexual awakenings. Meanwhile, Frankenstein’s jittery assistant (Dana Miltins) provides welcome relief with her deadpan humour.
Exploring themes of fertility, isolation and the pressure to reproduce at any cost, this is well-executed theatre by creators who are pushing boundaries. It will polarise, but that’s not a bad thing.
Rating: 3 ½ out of 5 stars
Herald Sun
There’s incest, full-frontal nudity, and an awful lot of screaming. There’s also a choreographed dance to a Beyonce track, some bastardised Byron and Shelley, and a character masturbating with a skeleton.Frankenstein
Created by Kate Davis and Emma Valente
Set and Costume Design by Kate Davis
Lighting and Sound Design by Emma Valente
Performed by Jane Montgomery Griffiths, Emily Milledge, David Paterson and Mary Helen Sassman
Beckett Theatre
Frankenstein / is Mary Shelley’s gothic novel adapted for a world that was once unimaginable – one in which life can be conceived in a laboratory instead of a womb.
Doctor Frankenstein is a childless woman, a scientist obsessed with becoming a mother. One night she succeeds in her experiments and sparks life into a monstrous creature – a miraculous conception. Has Frankenstein taken things too far, to a place
where the violent need to procreate has upset the balance of nature itself?
Looking back to a classic to see into the future, THE RABBLE’s mutated tale / transcends nature.
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Created by / Kate Davis and Emma Valente
Direction / Emma Valente
Set and Costume Design / Kate Davis
Lighting and Sound Design / Emma Valente
Cast includes / Jane Montgomery Griffiths, Emily Milledge, Dana Miltins, David Paterson, Mary Helen Sassman
Running time / 1 hour and 40 minutes, no interval
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View and download the Frankenstein program here.
View and download Director Emma Valente’s artistic note here.
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Time to Talk
Wednesday 2 April, following the 8pm performance of Frankenstein
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Key image photography by Andrew Curtis
Rehearsal photography by Kate Davis
THE RABBLE is Malthouse Theatre’s 2014 Company in Residence.
Malthouse Theatre’s Company in Residence Program is proudly supported by The Danielle and Daniel Besen Foundation.
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