Dannis Boyle’s
Frankenstein, the pluriawarded 2011
theatrical production, has been a
terrific success live on stage at the National Theatre in London and it has after that also been shown worldwide in movie theatres in
the original language. It arrived in
Rome yesterday (Cinema Lux) and it’ll be on tonight too (Cinema Barberini).
I can’t imagine how
exciting it must have been for the lucky ones in the audience at the theatre, but it was
amazing and enthralling to watch it on screen last night for me. It was like
being on stage with the cast, so with a really
privileged perspective on the spectacular staging.
I’ve always been
astonished by the idea of a 19th century woman, Mary Shelley, writing such a modern,
evergreen, disquieting story and at her young age (19 years old). However, Nick Dear, whose adaptation Benedict
Cumberbatch and Jonny Lee - Miller brought on stage, surprised and moved me with
his brilliant work, which turns the novel into a touching play.
The originality of the show is in the idea of a symbiotic relationship
between created and creator, the monster
and the scientist who gave him life, unusually rendered with Benedict
Cumberbatch and Jonny Lee-Miller alternating and taking turns to play the
two main roles, that of Victor Frankenstein and that of his unnaturally created
monster.
The version I saw last night was with
Cumberbatch as the creature and Lee-Miller as Victor Frankenstein.