“It was already one in the morning, the rain pattered dismally against the panes and my candle was nearly burnt out, when, by the glimmer of the half-extinguished light, I saw the dull yellow eye of the creature open…”
Mary Shelley’s classic horror deals with man’s struggle to understand the nature of life and consciousness, the effect of nurture versus nature in the development of human behaviour and the consequences of technology and science unguided by an ethical code.
It is unremittingly bleak, intensely psychological and deeply affecting. The plight of the Creature; abandoned, alone and confused is tragic in the extreme as he grows to appreciate his fate, but equally his creator, Victor; pursuing the goal of bringing dead things back to life, is sure he is doing this for the good of mankind.
An inventive, innovative and often rather moving piece of theatre.
- Basingstoke Gazette
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Proteus’ Artistic Director, Mary Swan, creates another shocking and sobering retelling of the gothic horror. Mary draws inspiration from other features of the gothic, like Bram Stoker’s Dracula, another breathtaking production by Proteus. The tale draws on the gothic novel and also its author, Mary Shelley and her surrounding company, who she often pulled inspiration from for characters.
The cast effortlessly switch from their fictional to non-fictional roles. The narrative weaves between the life of Mary Shelley during the writing period and the narrative of her gothic novel. This production not only beautifully recreates an artistic work but also tells another story of how this work was created.
