Life and Work of Frankenstein's Creator
Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley experienced an altogether tragic life which makes strong meat for this one-woman show. Edie Campbell narrates and dramatises Mary's life and work with close investigation behind the creation of her most famous novel, Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus. This was written when she was just 18 years old. How could such a young, innocent girl imagine such "a miserable monster" and what does it represent?
We learn about Mary's early life, the death of her mother, the feminist, Mary Wollstonecraft, and the romantic encounter aged just 16, when she met and fell in love with the poet Percy Shelley, eloping to Switzerland where they stayed with Lord Byron. One dark November night they all write ghost stories and Frankenstein is born.
There's a simple set featuring bed, armchairs, 4 identical dolls to denote her children, and piles of books - her mother`s feminist treatises, novels, the poetry and letters of Shelley - the literature which has inspired and informed her imagination. For the investigation into Frankenstein - a corpse which has been galvanised back to life - we are subjected to a debate on the ethics behind animal and human cloning. This might be fine for a medical thesis but it does not make for entertaining drama. Edie Campbell has a gentle and persuasive stage presence but unfortunately the literary and scientific research is just too heavy handed, which takes a fascinating story off in the wrong direction.
When and Where
11, 13, 15,17, 19, 21, 23, 25 August, at 13:00 at Pleasance Courtyard (Venue 33), 60 The Pleasance. Presented by Lynchpin Productions.
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