These Hands *

JJ and I went to a truly fabulous production of Frankenstein at the Royal & Derngate Theatre in Northampton last night. In fact, it was stunningly good. Running parallel with the traditional Mary Shelley story of the man who created a monster - or is it the other way round? - was that of a story of infanticide. Mary is an inmate at a top security mental hospital after killing her daughter by locking her in a freezer. Yes, that was a shocking part of the narrative. Shocking too was the scene when Frankenstein's "monster" killed his creator's young brother on stage. I don't think I've ever seen anything so powerful and somewhat shocking on a stage in my life. Shocks apart, this was a great theatrical experience and raised many questions about who were the monsters and who were the victims. Some scenes were almost ballet-like - well, there were two "movement directors" in this "physical theatre" company's production (yes, sounds a bit wanky I know) - with the monster in particular making superb use of the stage and the wonderful props. It may have taken a little while to get one's head round the parallel stories (well, it took me a little while) particularly as dialogue from both were running at the same time. But not too long before confusion was banished from this blogger's little mind. The link is that Mary's only activity in the hospital is her intense reading of ... Frankenstein. Wonderful acting from all, ace props, wonderful music and ace lighting. If this production finishes its run with the finale in Northampton tomorrow night, then I will be gobsmacked. See it if it comes to a theatre near you!

*The Damned