Frankenstein has been adapted numerous times since it was published in 1818. There are serious films, comedy films, paired back interpretations and gory ones. The National Theatre’s production with Jonny Lee Miller and Benedict Cumberbatch springs to mind as notable, and who doesn’t remember Mel Brook’s Young Frankenstein with fondness?

What makes Rona Monroe’s 2019 play different is that Mary Shelley is present throughout the retelling of her story. We see her grapple to compose a novel she can be proud of, but which people would want to read, would challenge them, and would not lead everyone to think she was completely mad. She shares Victor Frankenstein’s struggle to create life out of dead matter, as she conjures up an original, terrifying tale quite unlike any other.

The audience is treated to the entire dramatic story, guided by Mary Shelley, who moves the action forward creatively and physically. Staging this production has required a cast of receptive, inventive and cooperative actors who have been happy work within the blurred boundaries of fiction, Mary’s creative spirit and what is possible on the stage. It has been a rewarding and enlightening experience for all, and I am so grateful that Monroe’s play has left us the space within it’s lines to create something truly original of our own.

Kathy Buckingham-Underhill