"I followed nature into her lair, and stripped her of her secrets! I brought torrents of light to a darkening world! Is that wrong?" | ||||||
| The flattery of shade hides a multitude of sins. |
"Waste of time?" you may ask. Not at all, I mean it may not have set me in any stead to actually gain employment or enter the work-force and grow up, but by GOD have I read some amazing books.
Mary Shelley's Frankenstein is without doubt one of my favourite texts of all time. (Yip, I'm one of "those" that get's unreasonably galled by those who mistakenly call the monster Frankenstein - FOR SHAME)
This masterful gothic tale of creation and rejection horrifies and captivates the reader. Shelley's ability to evoke sympathy for the the helpless creature, horrifying as he may be, and address a multitude of issues still current, instantly affirmed this as a classic.
So you can only imagine my absolute delight in discovering that Danny Boyle is bringing it to the stage in but a week. Boyle's production of Nick Lear's play version of the timeless story hits the Royal National Theatre on Febuary 5, and it looks set to be ruddy good. With Benedict Cumberbatch and Johnny Lee Miller alternating in the roles of Victor Frankenstein and the creature, and musical accompaniment from Underworld - I'd frankly sell a kidney to go and see this.
Any takers?
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| Cumberbatch (easy for you to say) and Miller |
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| Couple a showponies - Underworld |
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| The man, the myth, the legend : Boyle |
WHIT MAN I'd heavy love to see this! Are they bringing it to Scotland perchance? I too am more than a little obsessed with Mary Shelley and Frankenstein.
ReplyDeleteALSO I'd like to make a request IF I MAY - Let's go see Never Let Me Go (I pure fancy it btw) cos I'd very much like to hear your thoughts on it in the form of a blogpost...
plan xxx
I KNOW, RIGHT? i think it's just playing at the national in London though :-(
ReplyDeleteI really want to see Never Let Me Go also so that is very much a plan Stan, good call!
xxx
Ha ha ha!! Love the opening lines there! 'A relative pointless literary knowledge'... ('mediocrity' is that about yourself or English literature??? I haven't studied literature as history was my poison at uni but I've read a good wollop of the English classics with a touch of French and Russian and absolutely 110% agree as I've read some not too bad booksas well!
ReplyDeleteFrankenstein is a great book and it has always bugged me that not one film under the guise of Frankenstein even attempts to follow it. They are all garbage with no semblance of the books core message. Would be interesting to see Boyle's interpretation as he isn't a bad film maker and I'm sure he'd bring his great eye to the stage as well. Shallow Grave is well worth checking out if you haven't seen it.