The vast Olivier auditorium at the National Theatre always takes my breath away – especially when the ascending and descending revolve is used. But that can be a drawback on filmed performances, with their accent on closeups you wouldn’t ever experience in the audience and long-range views which make the stage seem a distant blur.
I’ll go against popular Facebook opinion and say it all worked for me in these 2 versions of Frankenstein. The actors are dwarfed by the scale of the setting – which works and yet we get nuanced facial acting which equally works.
Night One for me was Benedict Cumberbatch as the creature and Jonny Lee Miller as Frankenstein . The birth of the creature is long, painstaking and mesmerising to watch as the poor wretch tries over and over again to stand up and walk. I thought Cumberbatch took over-long to take us through this grunt-laden bit of acting.
The emphasis of his portrayal is a grotesque humanity, and he is certainly good at the horror side of things. Jonny is a frenetic scientist , playing God and unfazed by his arrogance and lack of rudimentary manners towards his fiancé. In the latter scenes, he becomes frenzied, on the edge of madness and we don’t like what we see.
In contrast on Night Two, Jonny emerged from his electric egg and pretty much got on with walking without a great deal of fuss and bother. His creature is altogether more human and strangely attractive , and the chemistry that developed between him and Cumberbatch in this version is friendly , attractive and very funny.
Others will disagree with this analysis but if I was going to reprise my viewing it would be Jonny’s creature I would vote for.
Danny Boyle , who presumably wrote the script ( no-0ne is credited ) as well as directed both shows, demonstrates before we saw his 2012 Olympics opening that he is a master of big scenic effects . Here we get two show-stoppers. Overhead are 3,500 tungsten light bulbs which dazzle and blaze creating the creature’s initial life-force , and which in the auditorium must have been truly stunning.
The second, only used for a few moments, is a dynamic , actor-driven reproduction of a hellish steam engine – precursor of his Olympics Brunel segment.
In our current situation the story has its resonance – as Frankenstein seeks to eradicate sickness and suffering in the world . Either version is a powerful witness to the magic of live theatre.
Both shows are now available for a few days on the National’s YouTube channel. Please donate to bring theatre back.
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