Here is Mary Shelley, at her desk in her room at the Villa Diodati on the shores of Lake Geneva, probably the 16th June 1816 (according to my Fiona Sampson biography, not the play), thinking about the story she is challenged to write. Byron's party have read some German ghost stories and he suggests they each write a ghost story of their own.
As eighteen year old Mary tussles with her imagination, the characters come to life on the stage. This play is therefore not about Mary's life (as it was in the much superior play Mary Shelley that I saw in Oxford in 2012) but about how she created her literary masterpiece.
This theatrical device showing an interaction between Mary and her characters is the best thing about the play. At times cajoling, sympathetic, angry and excited, the novel comes to life. Having never read the book, I was amazed that here it was, crystallised into a short production. It's plot is far more devastating than any of the films I have seen for the simple reason it is true to the book as it describes huge family tragedies brought about by Victor Frankenstein's experiment.
Rona Munro's idea to place Mary on the stage alongside her characters works really well, it's just a shame that her script is somewhat hammy. This is not helped by the young cast, all of whom are not that much better than shouty amateurs. Eilidh Loan as Mary is certainly a presence on stage, but her constant nervous energy is over the top. I cannot imagine why the monster's accent is so strange, Michael Moreland could have been so much better. At least Ben Castle-Gibbs, Victor is a little better.
The production design is excellent, Becky Minto's set works well with a lot of the action taking place on those high balconies. The lighting and sound add to the atmosphere. A well imagined play that did not live up to it's promise.
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