Frankenstein at The Cockpit

Notated music and performance: CN Lester Electronic music and soundscapes: IL Libretto, direction, spoken word performance: Jamie Hale

This 60 minute hybrid work strips Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein to its core question: is it right to create new life in a fractured and suffering world?

Combining sung voice, spoken voice, and electronica, Frankenstein’s Offie-Award-winning proof of concept opened to universal critical and audience praise at Barbican in November 2025. Now, this full new interpretation of the classic text marries notated music and operatic vocals from CN Lester (‘Captivating, hypnotic’ – Opera) with libretto, direction and spoken word performance from Jamie Hale (Evening Standard Director / Theatremaker of the Year 2021 – ‘fantastic’ – Hannah Gadsby) and electronic musical soundscapes from IL (‘a masterclass in sound design’ – Attitude). Shifting and distorting, Frankenstein is neither opera, nor sound installation, nor straight theatrical performance, but a hybrid expression of embodiment that puts trans and disabled voices at the heart of what it is to be monstered, and what it is to be free.