The structure of Mary Shelley’s 1818 novel Frankenstein has been compared, aptly, to a nest of Russian dolls. A sea captain, writing home to his sister, tells of how, trapped at the north pole, he sights a gigantic figure (who subsequently narrates his own “life” story) crossing the ice by dog-drawn sleigh. Later, the captain rescues an exhausted Dr Frankenstein, who reveals his mission to destroy the “monster”. In this new two-handed stage version, touring theatre company Imitating the Dog, in co-production with Leeds Playhouse, adds another layer to the fiction.
The setting is the present. Hayley Grindle’s set suggests a small flat with a bed, some furniture and a radio set. A young woman shares the result of a pregnancy test with a young man: it’s positive. Over the following months she remains in situ; he comes and goes. Through elliptical dialogue they discuss – or fail to discuss – what it means to give life and whether they should. Suggestions that this joint act of creation risks isolating each in their own psychic reality are highlighted through dance sequences that may – or may not – be intended to reveal characters’ inner feelings (choreography by Casper Dillen).
