FRANKENSTEIN
Sun, 11 Aug 2002, 12:22 amWalter Plinge19 posts in thread
FRANKENSTEIN
Sun, 11 Aug 2002, 12:22 amI'm hoping I get this on the web before midnight 10/08/02, the opening night of this play, presented by Vagabond Theatre at The Rechabites Hall, Northbridge. I know how good it feelsas a cast/crew member after an opening night celebration to wait for the notices to come in.
The choice of story seems surprising, given that it is a romantic/gothic classic, if ever there was such a thing. Nevertheless, the various themes and morals of the story are good to reflect on in these post-post-modern times of ours, with stem-cell research, genetic manipulation and performance-enhancing elite sports very much on the agenda.
The acting performances were all very slick. I found all the characters very well drawn and plenty of energy coming from the stage. I particularly admired the multi-roling by the younger members of the cast. Patrick's Monster evoked the right levels of sympathy and fear, while Grant's Victor held it all together very capably. My only complaint is that Grant is a bit too young and pretty to be really covincing as a mad scientist.
Finally, I loved the the audiovisual, light and sound design, cheerful front of house and bar staff. However, as much as I liked the multi-level stage draped in underlay, I'm sure there are ways a designer could utilise the lofty architecture of the Rechabites to better effect.
Congratulations and have a great season.
The choice of story seems surprising, given that it is a romantic/gothic classic, if ever there was such a thing. Nevertheless, the various themes and morals of the story are good to reflect on in these post-post-modern times of ours, with stem-cell research, genetic manipulation and performance-enhancing elite sports very much on the agenda.
The acting performances were all very slick. I found all the characters very well drawn and plenty of energy coming from the stage. I particularly admired the multi-roling by the younger members of the cast. Patrick's Monster evoked the right levels of sympathy and fear, while Grant's Victor held it all together very capably. My only complaint is that Grant is a bit too young and pretty to be really covincing as a mad scientist.
Finally, I loved the the audiovisual, light and sound design, cheerful front of house and bar staff. However, as much as I liked the multi-level stage draped in underlay, I'm sure there are ways a designer could utilise the lofty architecture of the Rechabites to better effect.
Congratulations and have a great season.
Re: FRANKENSTEIN
Thu, 15 Aug 2002, 05:24 pmI thought Frankenstein was an extremely well put together piece of theatre.
It was a not your 'normal' version of Frankenstein, but actually a close approximation of Shelley's Frankenstein: where the monster isn't a mindless killing machine, but a thinking 'being'.
It was quite a 'text heavy' show but the actors did well to never make it boring - I didn't ever lose concentration and never lost track of what was being said. Grant was his usual terrific self as Victor, not a 'mad scientist' (no cliches please!), but a human scientist with dreams and ideals that finds he can't cope with the realisation of his dream. Patrick was foreboding as the monster, but it was still possible to sympathise with his plight "why was he created?", "what is his purpose?". Sonia was exquisite as... oh bugger I forgot her name and I don't have a program handy (no that wasn't her name either!)... Anyway her lightness and energy was a nice contrast to Grant. Dean was very clear as the Captain. The other actors were very good too and moved between their roles well and there was never any confusion when they switched.
I really liked the stage, especially the underlay. It gave the it an industrial look but at the same time a weird kind of softness. And the minimal, 'essential' quality of the stage was good too. Maybe this is becoming a Vagabond thing, no clutter on the stage, nothing unessential present.
There was nothing obtrusive about the whole show, it seemed to work off the principle that 'less is more' and I think this is an interesting bent on the story of Frankenstein because we are used to lightning rods and chemical reactions, bubbling pots and all sorts of 'things' going on in the 'Hollywood' idea.
Well done I say!
Cheers
Nath
It was a not your 'normal' version of Frankenstein, but actually a close approximation of Shelley's Frankenstein: where the monster isn't a mindless killing machine, but a thinking 'being'.
It was quite a 'text heavy' show but the actors did well to never make it boring - I didn't ever lose concentration and never lost track of what was being said. Grant was his usual terrific self as Victor, not a 'mad scientist' (no cliches please!), but a human scientist with dreams and ideals that finds he can't cope with the realisation of his dream. Patrick was foreboding as the monster, but it was still possible to sympathise with his plight "why was he created?", "what is his purpose?". Sonia was exquisite as... oh bugger I forgot her name and I don't have a program handy (no that wasn't her name either!)... Anyway her lightness and energy was a nice contrast to Grant. Dean was very clear as the Captain. The other actors were very good too and moved between their roles well and there was never any confusion when they switched.
I really liked the stage, especially the underlay. It gave the it an industrial look but at the same time a weird kind of softness. And the minimal, 'essential' quality of the stage was good too. Maybe this is becoming a Vagabond thing, no clutter on the stage, nothing unessential present.
There was nothing obtrusive about the whole show, it seemed to work off the principle that 'less is more' and I think this is an interesting bent on the story of Frankenstein because we are used to lightning rods and chemical reactions, bubbling pots and all sorts of 'things' going on in the 'Hollywood' idea.
Well done I say!
Cheers
Nath
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