EDINBURGH 2023: Review: FRANKENSTEIN, TheSpace @ Venue 45
Berlin Open Theatre produce a stripped back version of the famous tale.
Perhaps one of the greatest tales ever told and one of the most famous stories of all time; yet another production of Frankenstein finds itself at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
The show finds itself on a stripped back stage, no sets in sight, only the small amount of props that the actors take on stage, some lighting and some music/sound effects. Given the story's past adaptations and famous uses of expressionism, such a stripped back approach is an interesting one.
As the show continues the production makes great use of lighting, shadows and silhouettes to display the more violent scenes of the play, crafting some wonderful DIY imagery that never fails to impress. The lighting is used well too, with a particularly beautiful scene in which the monster describes the moon to De Lacey, the blind peasant who takes the monster in.
However, what is truly the beating heart of the play is the acting. With so little else happening on stage the actors must use their bodies to draw the audience's attention. Specifically, the actor who portrays the monster is great, capturing the inner pain of the monster through the sickening movements of their body; snapping limbs into place with each step and every action taken.
The rest of the cast do an equally impressive job, specifically Victor Frankenstein and his father, both of whom have great chemistry with one another and with the other actors of the show, bringing a weight to their performances that perfectly display the stories themes of creation and destruction.
Berlin Open Theatre's production of Frankenstein is one which certainly impresses, the bare setting and production design are not a hindrance but a strength, which only allows the rest of the show's performers and tech team to shine.
Frankenstein runs at theSpace @ Venue 45 until 19 August.
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