Frankenstein. Not the book by Shelley. Not the book by Brian Aldous. And not the movie, not any of the movies. Not even Young Frankenstein.
This Frankenstein is a play, by Joathan Christenson, staged by Catalyst Theatre at the St Lawrence Centre. The storyline here is a retelling of the original story but the staging makes it an re-imagining.
This production has a little bit of everything: Songs, operetta, a Greek style chorus, Pirandello, classic pantomime, irony, tragedy, romance, satire ... to the point things get a bit too mashed up and the play tends to lose its focus.
Still, the play is very effective but what works most about the story is, well, the story. The story about a man and his overpowering obsession; it could be viewed as an obsession to discover, to breach secrets, to delve into mysteries or you could view it as a man's need to create, to play god, to control the destinies of others and therefore his own.
It's really a story about love. In the play, Victor Frankenstein is overwhelmed by grief at the passing of his beloved parents, a grief that makes death an enemy to him, an enemy that he must conquer and overcome He thinks he misses the love he had as a child.
The creature, too, is motivated by love. Created, then abandoned by its creator, the creature searches for the love that all humans crave, the thing that perhaps makes us human. It's not just love that makes us human, many animals feel love but it's the quest for the love, the hunger for it, the need to define it
The creature needs love. He doesn't really know why. But he's alone in the world, he is aware enough to know that he is alone and it's a feeling that he can't live with. He needs love so much that when denied it, he strikes out with violence
The love that the creature really seeks is the love of Frankenstein, the love of its creator. But Victor can't bear to give it, he is a man who is probably unable to give love. He thinks a need to be loved, to express love is why he made the creature but its clear through his relationships in the play that he has no love to give. Perhaps it left him when his parents died. But he is a man incapable of feeling love or expressing it. He is married to Lucy, a family member but it's clear that their feelings for each other are on a different level. Frankenstein does not want to love, he wants to possess, he wants to control
The creature begs Victor to make him a bride. Frankenstein knows this is wrong and later regrets it yet, still, he makes another creature. He can't help himself. The power of making life, of controlling life, is something he cannot resist. It's like the thrill of a serial killer; the power of taking a life is an intoxicant
The love that the creature feels is a need for acceptance. When rejected by Frankenstein, when rejected by the villagers, he lashes out. Love me damn you, love me, or I'll hurt you!
Yeh, that Austrian village was just a tad dysfunctional.
As I mentioned, the Frankenstein story has been reinterpreted many times. It's not surprising. Love is the heart of most stories. This production looked to present the story in the context of a contemporary myth. I'm not sure if it was entirely successful in that endeavour, but it makes sense. The myths and ancient stories that still resonate with us have love .. the need for it, the lack of it, the hatred of it ... at their core
Did I love this play? No. But I liked it. I'm not lighting the candles and opening the Chianti for it, but for sure, I'll take it to Timmies a couple of times.
No comments:
Post a Comment