Frankenstein comes to life

Binbrook Little Theatre delivers clever set design, lighting and costuming, along with some strong performances in Frankenstein: The Monster Play, the 1980 adaptation of Mary Shelley’s legendary novel. 

Onstage now until, fittingly, the day after Halloween, Binbrook Little Theatre presents Frankenstein: The Monster Play, a 1980 adaptation by Christopher O’Neil of Mary Shelley’s legendary gothic novel published in 1818. Binbrook offers a fairly large and comfortable auditorium, with a good-sized stage. The theatre company also offers the option of a sit-down dinner with some of its performances. Late last week, I viewed a dress rehearsal just before Frankenstein opened its run.

This play really leans into a consideration of Victor Frankenstein’s legacy as “the modern Prometheus,” a mortal who through his scientific endeavour, encroaches on the territory of God. In so doing, he causes destruction, grief, and the upending of the natural order. This causes mayhem for Dr. Frankenstein, his family and associates, not to mention the residents of the surrounding area. In essence, the play sums up thoroughly the principle of “just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.”

The set design is quite clever in this production, with the stage divided in half to form the upstairs laboratory on one side, with the downstairs sitting room forming the other. The actors take pains to delay their appearance in the new room when moving from place to place and make stair climbing noises to maintain the illusion of there being different floors in the house. The décor is well appointed and thoughtful. The lighting design is also quite wonderful, as there are windows in the lab and the sitting room that flicker realistically during a thunderstorm, and in one high-drama scene, orange light is used to show a space increasingly engulfed in flames. To demonstrate the use of electricity in animating Frankenstein’s monster, the lighting and props designers have come up with a really creative, eye-catching device. Well done, all.

The acting is a bit uneven, although the cast may have since settled more fully into their roles. A few of the supporting actors seemed self-conscious or as though they were reciting their lines. For me, the strongest performance came from the actor playing Mrs. Frankenstein (Sue Blackman). This is unsurprising, given her bio tells of her experience as a child actor in the 1960s and ’70s, her studies in England at drama school, and her significant list of credits. One of my companions grew annoyed with Mrs. Frankenstein’s pattern of punctuating her statements with a loud thump of her cane on the floor, but I appreciated Blackman’s development of a character tic for Victor’s strong-willed mother as well as her balance of realism and melodrama.

Another strong performance came from Robert Moore, who plays the familiar Igor, Dr. Frankenstein’s long-suffering assistant, with commitment and a much-needed splash of humour. Amazingly, not only is this Moore’s first play with Binbrook Little Theatre, it is also his first play since 1965! Well done to Moore, who embodies the shambling, hunchbacked servant with a lot of panache. Due to his lowly status, he spends considerable time curled up in a corner, covered in a tattered cloth.

Then, there’s Frankenstein’s monster, that grotesque jigsaw puzzle of flesh. I would be remiss if I didn’t specifically mention Mark Rogers’ performance as the Monster. Much of the play’s success hinges on this role, how the Monster is portrayed, and both the cast and audience’s reception to him. Rogers is a returning Binbook performer. Rogers commits fully to the character and never breaks for even a moment. His work to build a physical sense of the character through primitive body language and jerky movements is commendable. He was able to convey the Monster as a frightening but wretched creature, possessing only a few, indistinct words and confused by his own terrible strength.

 As one might imagine, the play also depends heavily upon the role of Victor Frankenstein (played by Drew Caissie). Unfortunately, I found the portrayal of Victor to be, on the whole, unconvincing. There are a few moments in the attic lab when Caissie shows Dr. Frankenstein to be an animated and impassioned scientist, fuelled by ambition and the desire to attain the previously unattainable. However, his scenes in the living room see him as nearly expressionless while swinging abruptly from one emotional state to another. His passion can too often be measured by his volume, not the realistic inflections of his voice or nuance in his body language. He shows a pensive state by repeatedly grasping his elbow in hand and holding his finger to his lips as if he’s thinking. It’s unclear whether Caissie and director Brad Fortman intended to play Frankenstein as so detached from humanity in his own mannerisms, but the result is that Caissie seems rather robotic in his behaviour. 

In addition, there is little chemistry between Victor and his fiancée, Miss Elizabeth (Jeannine Ryan), a relationship that should add emotional stakes to the drama. Indeed, Ryan appears to have a much easier connection with David McEachern, who plays Victor’s friend Henry Clerval, enough that I was waiting for Henry to sweep the winsome Elizabeth away from the rising horror at some point during Act II.

The costumes for this production are quite beautiful, particularly those of Elizabeth and Mrs. Frankenstein. Hats off to the production crew for their efforts here. My only (small) qualm was about one or two pieces of jewelry that Elizabeth and Mrs. Frankenstein wore, which glittered brightly in a way that seemed a bit too modern. The makeup, particularly for Igor, is also well done. Along with my companions, I was trying to determine whether Mark Rogers was wearing a wig or had partially shaved his head in order to have the suture marks and seams of the Monster drawn right onto his skull. If the latter, I really admire his sense of conviction!

This production would be suitable and accessible for families with children of perhaps 8 years and up (there are a few sinister moments, but nothing too scary).

NEED TO KNOW

Frankenstein: The Monster Play
Continues Oct. 24, 31 and Nov. 1, 8 p.m.
Oct. 25 & 26, 2 p.m.
Optional turkey dinner on Oct. 25; optional roast beef dinner, Nov. 1
Binbrook Little Theatre
2600 Hwy 56, Binbrook
Box office: (905) 692-5076, tickets@binbrooktheatre.ca, or visit here
Tickets: $25, or $50 with dinner
Doors open 30 minutes before the performance (or dinner)