Watch Frankenstein: you won’t be disappointed
As dawn rises on Dr Frankenstein’s monstrous human’s first ever morning, he is overwhelmed by the feel of the grass that grows on the ground, he is enchanted by the drops of rain that fall into his open mouth and he is spellbound by the bright yellow ball that is beginning to make its ascent into the sky.
It hasn’t been an easy first night for the fully-grown infant monster: just as he is beginning to awaken, acquire some motor skills and gain a realisation of the fact that he is alive, his creator walks in and in a fit of fear, brutally ejects him from the only place he has ever known: a basement where he was created, from corpses, gas and electricity. Later on in the night, the creature is chased and beaten by men who, riding a sublimely staged steampunk train, are horrified by the monstrous being they behold.
I must admit that I had my misgivings about attending a film of a play. I couldn’t grasp why anyone would want to fork out money to see on screen what they should be viewing as a live performance. But then again, people do that for football, so why was I getting my knickers in such a twist?
Enough said that my misgivings were proved wrong. This was my first experience watching one of the Cross Culture (XC) HD series and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The fact is, when you watch a play you are seated in the audience and the angle you are watching from remains in-varied. This can be fun, because people on the right hand side of the audience will see some things, while people on the left hand will see others… yet there are some things that are just not possible, like for example when we see the monster lying sprawled out he ground as he attempts to make his first steps, from the air instead of from the usual angle beneath the stage. The changing points of view provide an added a dimension to the usual theatre experience, which is transformed into something new and exciting.
Filmed in HD by five different cameras at once, the film of the show brilliantly captures all of Danny Boyle’s innovative set design and dramatical lighting. The first scenes seamlessly transition from the red of the womb to the yellow of the steampunk train to the green hue of the bullies as they beat down on the hapless monster.
Frankenstein will be showing again this saturday at Brookhouse International School in Langata . Whilst last Sunday’s show at the National Museum had Johnny Lee Miller (remember Trainspotting?) playing Dr Frankenstein and Benedict Cumberbach (of Sherlock Holmes fame) playing the monster, in keeping with how the show was done at London’s National Theatre, the upcoming screening will see the actors’ roles reversed.
If you haven’t yet had the chance to see the film of the show, I would recommend you do so. We don’t get many large-production international plays here in Nairobi and if you want a dose of fun and mesmerising culture this would be the place to get it.
