Tilted Wig’s ‘Frankenstein’: dark, atmospheric, and layered with meaning.
After an intense few days of watching Until I Kill You, a gripping ITV drama series about serial killer John Sweeney played excellently by Anna Maxwell Martin, I arrived at Northampton’s Royal & Derngate to watch the tale of another monster.
This time, however, it was a creature stitched together from parts of the dead by Victoria Frankenstein played by a woman Emily-Jane-McNeill.
Tilted Wig’s adaptation took this classic tale and infused it with a fresh, contemporary edge, delivering gripping storytelling that offered new twists.
As the Royal’s curtain rose, the audience was drawn into a rustic log cabin on stage as Victoria Frankenstein came in search of the monster she created. And so the atmospheric storytelling started unfolding – slowly at first as she started to recount how he came into being to Captain Richter played by Basienka Blake.
As Captain Richter pointed a gun to Frankenstein’s head whilst offering her a cup of tea, it seemd that violence and normality can be a mere one step apart.
We were transported back to the 1940s – twist number two. Here, we see Victoria’s obsession with creating the “perfect man” from dismembered parts, mirroring the era’s real-life fixation on the so-called perfect race. The social setting underscored a world unaccepting of difference—an unsettling bedrock of prejudice.
The characterisation soon became clearer – the non stereotypes made you think about how we view difference.
Henry played by Tawana Dingembira was black and also a lot shorter than Victoria and her assistant was captured beautifully by Francine, Brianne Surgeoner who had a disability.
Despite society’s views, the doctor’s ambition for her “perfect” creation blinds her to all else. Through its casting and plot, the production effectively conveyed the dangers of pursuing uniformity—a subtle reflection on the period’s anti-Semitism and the horrors of that era.
The audience couldn’t miss the connection to modern anxieties, either and the potential dangers of blindly pursing scientific advancement.
While the Victorians' fears of scientific advancement inspired tales of Gothic horror, a contemporary twist on this theme can be seen in the rapid rise of AI technology.
Here ‘the creature’ could be a metaphor for the dangers of AI technology.
As Victoria Frankenstein’s ambition and ultimately the monster spirals out of control, we’re left to ponder: In our pursuit of scientific advancement, are we creating something that may, one day, grow beyond our control?
Director Sean Aydon aimed to layer the play with critiques on contemporary society, and the effort paid off. The cast gave tight, committed performances that bound the story together, with Victoria Frankenstein’s storytelling captivating the audience throughout. The atmospheric set, complete with smoke, gleaming bottles, and vials, served as the perfect backdrop on the Royal Theatre’s brooding stage.
In this reimagining based on a classic tale, Frankenstein succeeds in posing difficult, lingering questions—a production that resonates deeply and demands reflection.
Tilted Wig’s Frankenstein runs at the Royal & Derngate until Saturday, October 16.