REVIEW: “Wonderfully Gothic” Frankenstein at the Royal Exchange

It’s my first visit to Manchester’s Royal Exchange Theatre, and I’m rather confused by this odd structure of stairs and pipes. How do I find my seat? What bar do I use? Where the heck are the toilets? It would help if someone turned the lights on.

“Twitchy, nervous” Shane Zaza as Victor Frankenstein

The cobbled-together appearance of the theatre actually makes it rather fitting for a production of Frankenstein, Mary Shelley’s legendary story of an arrogant scientist who creates his own man from various corpses. Repulsed by the result, Frankenstein casts his “monster” out into an unforgiving world. Rejected by everyone just for his hideous appearance, the Creature seeks to ruin his creator by taking away everything he loves…

Staged in the round, Matthew Xia’s production is intimate and relaxed, with the audience feeling as much a part of the story as the actors. The staging is minimal; just a few props (including a very unpleasant hanging corpse) and a tense, rumbling score are used to create a wonderfully gothic atmosphere.

Shane Zaza plays Frankenstein as a twitchy, nervous wreck; he doesn’t sit still once throughout the whole thing. Meanwhile, Harry Attwell’s Creature throws himself around the stage howling and moaning, being absolutely terrifying and pitiful at the same time. They’re supported by an excellent cast who play numerous roles.

“Howling and moaning”: Harry Attwell as the Creature

The biggest problem facing Frankenstein is how to refresh a story that has been adapted hundreds of times already. Writer April De Angelis has decided to place more focus on the framing device of Captain Walton (Ryan Gage), the stranded sailor to whom a dying Frankenstein is telling his story. Walton spends the play sitting with the audience, watching in disbelief and wryly commenting on what he assumes are just the ramblings of a sick man. When the Creature jumps out from the darkness at the end, we’re all terrified together.

Frankenstein is repulsed by his creation

De Angelis has modernised some of the language and added in some jokes that don’t fit well with the horror of the story. Frankenstein works best when providing classic scares – a creepy laboratory, a monster hiding under the bed- and providing a smart insight into why a man would create something so wrong just because he could.

That’s if you can find your seat in time.

Frankenstein plays at the Royal Exchange Theatre until 14th April. Book tickets here:  royalexchange.co.uk