Saturday, March 19, 2011

21st Century Frankenstein

This afternoon Mrs Cheesecake and I went to the cinema but rather than see a film we saw a play. The National Theatre are using the wonder of modern technology to present digital screenings of their version of Frankenstein through out the UK at select cinemas. What an absolute treat it was.

Directed by Danny Boyle and starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Jonny Lee Miller this production of Shelly’s classic novel is viewed very much from the monsters perspective.

In an interesting casting decision Cumberbatch and Miller alternate the roles of the Doctor Frankenstein and the Monster each performance. (We saw a performance with Cumberbatch as the monster.)

Both leads were exceptional though for sheer physical presence Cumberbatch may have nudged slightly ahead. That said I am sure if we had seen Lee Miller as the monster I would have felt that way about him. As I said the show is all about the monster.

The supporting cast were great. Karl Johnson stood out as an old blind man who befriends the beast. 

The sets though quite minimal were very effective. Some imaginative lighting added to this.

The two hours flew by and I was completely engrossed in the story. If I had the opportunity I would be keen to see another performance with Lee Miller as the Monster for comparison's sake.

If you get the chance I strongly advise you check this out!

1 comment:

Hedgey said...

I wanted to see this but the call of overtime was too powerful.