I don’t think reviews of live theatre will be commonplace here, particularly since I don’t often go to plays, but then this is only half a play. You see, when Danny Boyle put on a stage production of Frankenstein, newly-adapted by Nick Dear, it only ran for a few weeks, and only at the National Theatre in London. Would that I could have gone to see it live. Luckily, two performances were filmed and broadcast to cinemas around the world. This happened last year, but I was tied up and unable to go. Thankfully, National Theatre Live decided to present the play on the big screen once more. It’s a play, but it’s filmed and seen on the big screen, and while these kinds of events are now commonplace, it’s the first time I’ve been to one. Well, in this case I saw it twice.
You see, Danny Boyle cast two great actors to play Victor Frankenstein and the Creature. Jonny Lee Miller and Benedict Cumberbatch took the roles, but they did something really special. Each night they would swap parts, each taking a turn playing the other character. Quite the clever ploy considering I got two tickets and saw the same play twice in the space of a week. I suppose I could have just chosen one or the other, but part of the fun was to see how each actor would approach the roles. It’s a sight worth seeing, though I do think one version comes out better than another. Click to read more.
