Frankenstein
;
Or, the Modern Prometheus
A new adaptation by Charlie Steele, based on the novel by
Mary Shelley
Who are we?
We are Charlie, Hamish and Lucy, and we're proposing FRANKENSTEIN; or, the
Modern Prometheus. Hello!
Director: Charlie Steele
a
I've been involved in SUTCo since my first year, working
backstage and as a designer, as well as an actor. I played the role
of Dora Strang in last semester's production of 'Equus'. I've been
involved in the Platform Festival for two years, as both an actor
(Antigone, The Lightening Play, Exchanges Across a Coffin,
Letters Home) and director (Oleanna), and won Best Female
Performer for my involvement this year. I look forward to taking
on the role of Secretary and Social Secretary on next year’s
SuTCo Committee.
Previously, I have attended a summer course in acting at
LAMDA in 2010, where I was exposed to a wide variety of
directing and acting techniques. Currently, I am being taught acting by Ruth Carney,
assistant director on Ghost the Musical, at her Carney Academy of Performing Arts,
which is the resident drama school at the Lantern Theatre. I have attended acting
workshops with Daniel Evans at the Crucible and with various other professionals at the
Lantern Theatre, and attended a playwriting Q&A with SuTCo Alumni Lucy Prebble at
the Theatre Royal Haymarket (where she gave me some great advice about
Frankenstein!) I am currently rehearsing for a production of Much Ado about Nothing
this summer with 'The Company' in which I will be playing the role of Hero.
Stage Manager: Hamish Ellis
My initial involvement with SuTCo was as the lighting op for Equus.
After that, I was elected Lighting Technician on the Committee and have
been to every get in since. In semester two, I was the Lighting Designer
for A Dream Play, the Stage Manager for Brontë and involved in the
technical side of Platform. I have been elected the Production Manager
for The 24 Hour Charity Musical 2013 and will be the Technical
Manager for a new company at the Edinburgh Fringe this summer.
Producer: Lucy Weston
My first trot into the ring of Sutco was in Equus as a
Horseman. Since then, I have been an ASM for Our
Country’s Good and have performed in A Dream Play and
Peter Pan. I have directed two radio plays for the Sutco
Radio play, one of which was put together in under 48
hours. I performed in two shows at the Platform
Performance Festival; Letters Home and The Bear. I am
currently helping design and make costume for The
Illustrious One.
I have done a workshop with Daniel Evans at the Crucible
and a workshop in directing with Eclipse Theatre. I
attended a ten week writing course at the Royal Exchange
with theatre writer Cheryl Martin which culminated in a
short play I wrote being performed at the Studio, a small side stage within the Royal
Exchange. Also at the Studio I have performed twice in youth theatre projects helmed by
professionals at the theatre.
Why us?
We all met on that play about the horses, which we thought was blinding good fun (for
Lucy especially). Since then, we've all gotten to know each other very well, are very
good friends and are all very comfortable expressing our ideas to each other. Most
importantly, we're all incredibly passionate about Frankenstein as a play, and we would
be overjoyed to be able to work on bringing this amazing story to the stage for SuTCo.
We will also be having a DSM and a cinematographer on our production team.
The Story
Often thought to be the first science fiction novel ever written, Frankenstein tells the
story of a 'selfish intellectual' who 'trades domestic happiness and marital love for the
chimaeras of scientific knowledge, success, and power'. The brilliant scientist Victor
Frankenstein, through studying the 'natural decay and corruption of the human body'
becomes 'capable of bestowing animation upon lifeless matter'. His ambition drives him
to animate a monstrous creature, who he then abandons responsibility for. The resulting
clash between them claims the lives of the novel's most vulnerable characters and leaves
us asking what should be within the realm of human endeavour. Should we play God?
A powerful and important story, Frankenstein explores themes of parental responsibility,
masculinity, femininity, birth, life, death, and asks; how far should we be prepared to go
for the sake of science?
The Characters
Victor Frankenstein
Arguably the real monster of the story, anyone who steps into the role of Victor should be
prepared to ask: what would it be like to be a genius? He is self-absorbed and alienating,
but also charming and vibrant when he needs or wants to be. His intellectual superiority
is contrasted by his emotional deficiencies as a friend, lover, and human being.
Victor does not acknowledge his mistakes until it is far too late and is ultimately
consumed by self-hatred, and the loss of his loved ones.
The Creature
Throughout the story, The Creature progresses from an innocent baby, to a corrupted
monster. He is our blank slate, Adam from the garden of Eden, and represents all of us.
He turns from a perfect and joyous creature to one who internalises the worst horrors of
humanity; murder and hatred.
He is not stupid or mute as portrayed in some popular adaptations, throughout the course
of the action becoming arguably as intelligent as Victor and ultimately understanding
what his own existence means. The Creature wants Victor to have been there for him, and
to have been his parent. After he realises he has been abandoned completely, he bargains
with Victor to create him a female as horrific as him so he does not have to be alone.
After Victor breaks his promise to do this, he craves both Victor's and his own total
destruction.
Robert Walton
A naive and boyish explorer, Robert Walton discovers Victor floating on the open sea.
He is not as intelligent as Victor but just as ambitious, and has a chip on his shoulder
about being deprived as excellent an education as Victor. His character progression
within the play takes him from a naive, easily influenced boy to an arrogant man seeking
ultimate knowledge.
Elizabeth Lavenza
A very witty, bright and sweet but ultimately flawed human, who allows her love for
Victor to make her a martyr for his love. She is faithful and true, but not an angel; she can
be petty, and ultimately has a lot more faith in Victor than she does in herself. At the
beginning of the play she maintains a cheerful veneer, but by the end her threads have
unravelled and we see just how damaged she is.
Henry Clerval
An incredibly cheerful, idealistic and likeable man, and arguably the only pure character
in the play, Henry Clerval is a good man who seeks knowledge not for its own sake but to
become a learned man. He is kind and giving, the anti-Frankenstein.
Alphonse Frankenstein
Victor's father and Elizabeth's adopted father, Alphonse is a doting father but arguably
contributes to Victor's emotional problems by praising him solely for his intellectual
pursuits. His character progresses from a very impressive man in Victor's childhood, a
man of learning and of grandiose, to a broken, destroyed man who has lost all he loves.
Justine Moretz
A servant of the Frankenstein household, who is framed for the murder of William
Frankenstein at the hands of the Creature.
Caroline Beaufort
Frankenstein's mother, whose death arguably led to him wishing to bestow life upon the
dead.
Professor Krempe
One of the professors at Ingolstadt, an eccentric man who laughs at Frankenstein's love of
ancient science.
Professor Waldman
An impressive and powerful professor who pushes Victor to succeed academically,
letting him use his laboratory and ultimately helping him to give life to the creature.
De Lacey
A charitable and venerable old man, who is deceived of his fortune and ends up povertystricken. He is blind, and as such, is the only person to truly welcome The Creature
without judging him on his detestable appearance.
Agatha De Lacey
A gentle peasant girl who cares deeply for her brother and father.
Felix De Lacey
A hard working, melancholy youth who works hard to support his family, but attacks The
Creature for his outward appearance.
Safie
A beautiful and defiant woman originally from Arabia, betrothed to Felix.
Bride of the Creature
The female made specifically to end The Creature’s loneliness.
There will be potential multi-roling, for some of the roles mentioned here, and for smaller
ensemble roles such as the crew on Walton's ship.
The script
'Frankenstein' is a name which immediately conjures images from various adaptations,
few of which have stayed true to the original intentions and parameters of Mary Shelley's
story and characters. When I first decided that I wanted to adapt Frankenstein, I knew I
wanted to remain true to the story, but there were certain themes that really affected me
personally. To me, Frankenstein is a warning that masculinity and ambition are powerful
and destructive forces without the tempering forces of femininity and grace. When we
reach too far, we can hurt the ones we love and lose sight of what it means to be human.
This is what I want to bring to the playscript.
The script takes inspiration from and remains true to Mary Shelley's words in the original
1818 version, whilst turning them into something that is dramatically potent. The book
contains a framed narrative from Captain Walton's perspective, which is something that
will be adapted into the script, as Captain Walton delving into Victor Frankenstein's mind
and revisiting his past with him. This will give the story a humanity that is often lost by
Victor Frankenstein's hyperactive genius. Walton's role is to press Frankenstein for every
detail, not judge.
The timeline of the playscript is mostly the same to the novel, except for the story of the
Creature being paralleled with scenes from Victor's own childhood.
Around five pages from the playscript are attached to the bottom of this proposal - happy
reading!
Technical and aesthetic interpretation
In terms of how we want Frankenstein to look and how we want to make the audience
feel, we really want to go for a terrifying and tense atmosphere. The designers working
on this show are going to have to work incredibly closely with each other and Hamish
and Charlie to ensure that we have a continuity to this vision. We really want the
designers to be a part of the creative vision and a part of the play.
We would like to use projection to compliment the action taking place on stage. The role
of the projection will be twofold: one, the use of a live feed with a camera on stage, and
two, recorded footage that enhances the action on stage.
The purpose of the live feed is to create an intimacy and an immediacy to the action
taking place on stage, allowing the actors to be seen up close, giving the feeling that we
are somehow closer to the story than we realise. This puts the audience in a vulnerable
position, where they will be more receptive to some of the more terrifying moments in
the story. However, it also gives the audience power - the actors have nowhere to hide.
The camera angles for the on-stage acting and the recorded footage will be overseen by a
cinematographer on our production team, who will work very closely with Charlie and
Hamish so that it is both artistically and technically brilliant. The recorded footage will
hopefully be shot on location, in and around Sheffield, as well as potentially Edinburgh
(where Hamish will be for the Fringe) and Cumbria (where Charlie is from).
As for designers, there are few opportunities bigger than this show. It is such an intense
and fascinating piece that any designer would be able to showcase their best work within
it. We would like a set designer who would work with us to create a set that both masks
the edge of the projection but may also be functional, potentially incorporating levels, as
well as working with the cinematographer to discuss where the camera will be situated at
different points. The lighting designer would work with the composer and
cinematographer in creating an atmosphere that draws people in, making this dark and
strange world. As well as a composer, there would be a sound designer to add to this
atmosphere. The costume designer and the hair and make-up teams would be critical to
the aesthetics of mixing the old with the new, so that the world on stage is completed.
Finally, we would ask for a 'creature designer' who would work with the vision in
Charlie’s mind to bring this near-human horror to the stage. In short, there are
opportunities here found nowhere else.
Publicity
With such an identifiable name as Frankenstein, the scope for publicity is enormous.
There are certain stereotypes associated with Frankenstein. The mind's eye immediately
conjures the image of the green man with bolts in his neck. This means that our publicity
has the opportunity to break all the rules and creatively delve our own initials into the
world of Frankenstein.
We are asking for the week 8 slot or potentially the week 6 slot, both of which are near to
Halloween. I believe either would help our publicity as people wish to celebrate and
extend the Halloween festivities. We do not wish to forget the symbiotic relationship
people associate with Frankenstein and Halloween and we would propose a Monster Ball
as a social and fundraising event.
I have talked with next year’s external publicity officer who is keen to make city rallies
as exciting as possible. Frankenstein, with its place within our collective cultural
consciousness, leaves us in an excellent position to create a spectacle within the city
centre and the union. This would get people talking, and most importantly get people into
the theatre. In order to publicise the show, we would flyer in places outside of the city
centre and union.
There is a thriving alternative scene in Sheffield that has been gaining influence from the
Goth culture that is very popular in Leeds. We would be able to target this community,
which would have particular interest in this production. Also, as our production is such a
close interpretation of the original text it would be of significance to the English
Department and the English Students as they study their gothic module.
One of our main ideas is to create viral videos to advertise the show. The presence of the
internet is cliché to even discuss, yet Frankenstein, that has within it the themes of
science and horror has the potential to hit a nerve on the internet and create a real buzz.
Why should SUTCo present Frankenstein?

Frankenstein is a massive name, it carries weight and will sell a lot of tickets for
us with Lucy's plan. There has been a recent adaptation by the National, as well as
countless adaptations over the years.

For actors, this play will offer dramatic challenges that don't come around in
every play. Frankenstein is a horrifying, beautiful story and its characters are as
three-dimensional as they are tormented. We've shown before what the actors of
this society are capable of, so let's do that again!

As we live in an age posing huge challenges in terms of science and the
environment, the morals and themes of scientific discovery and ambition within
Frankenstein are more relevant than ever.

Amazing scope of opportunities within the technical requirements of the play.
There's just so much to do, and a huge variety within it.
Admin
No rights to pay for! Ace.
Due to the huge dramatic (a cast of 15, 20+ characters) and technical (projection and
filming) requirements of this show, we feel that we are best suited to the Week Eight slot.
This also gives us the chance to get very talented freshers involved! Yay! We are also
open to the possibility of the Week Six Halloween week slot.
As this is a new adaptation, after the first draft of the script has been finished, we would
like to workshop with actors who are leaving SuTCo this year. This gives you guys a
chance to impact next year's season, and gives Charlie a chance to rewrite after seeing
what works really well on stage.
Excerpts
ACT ONE, SCENE ONE
A shaky live feed from a video camera. A man's hands are clutching at the lens and body
of the camera frantically, as behind him, a ship and a ship's crew are in distress. We
watch the up-close, claustrophobic shot of his face, as we see the pandemonium of the
slowly disintegrating ship on stage. There are crewmen moving past him, shouting
commands and throwing equipment, ignoring his last act of desperation, this morbid
diary. He is distressed, though resigned to the fate he describes.
WALTON. It is Monday, July 31st. Margaret. (He savours the name.) So strange an
accident has happened to us that I cannot forbear recording it... We are surrounded by ice
and we are encompassed by a very thick fog. It seems to seep underneath our very skin.
We have lay to, hoping that some change will take place in the atmosphere and weather,
but our supplies run dangerously low and we fear the worst.
I am recording this in the hopes that... that you should hear my voice once more, as it is
very probable that you will see my body before this can come into your possession.
I know that you will be angry. I beg, let not your last thoughts of me be as a fool. (to
himself) 'What may not be expected in a country of eternal light?'
Heaven bless my beloved sister! Tell Mother I'm not sorry for leaving. Not even now. All
my love, Robert Walton.
As he states his name, desperately not wanting his fate or his name to be lost, rough
hands shake him and rouse him outside. WALTON and EXPLORERS race onto the ship's
deck and look out as if gazing upon a miracle. A sea is projected behind them.
EXPLORER 1. The ice is breaking... Sir... life! Gods, we can see further than a metre!
WALTON. A man? Grab the ropes and hoist him. Onto the deck. I said the DECK, now!
The EXPLORERS exit. WALTON is shouting to the man from the deck.
WALTON. Can you hear me man? I am the captain, and I will not allow you to perish!
Stay close to life sir, and I will not!
Ropes are flung from the back of the stage. The EXPLORERS re-enter and together with
WALTON, they begin to pull the ropes, hoisting a decrepit raft onto the stage. On it,
VICTOR FRANKENSTEIN, huddled desperately in the corpses of dead dogs, clutching
his satchel with his life's work. He is near death. They rush towards him and pull him off
the raft and onto the deck.
WALTON huddles over VICTOR, and hears his heartbeat, as does the audience. As we
do, a flash of THE CREATURE appears behind, projected.
WALTON. He... lives. He is alive.
EXPLORER 1. Strange thing... He has rations, sir.
EXPLORER 2. And his dead dogs can be used for meat... I've never known luck like it.
WALTON. Gods! You must be a good omen, man! You must be a fallen angel, sir! You
must be a fallen angel!
ACT ONE, SCENE SIX
VICTOR. I discovered how to bestow life.
WALTON laughs, then looks at VICTOR's face. He is telling the truth.
VICTOR. It was late. I sat up, in my favourite spot in the laboratory... avoiding sleep
because it seemed to me a useless endeavour, as it often did in those months when I was
alone with nothing but my books and my thoughts to keep me company. I wish I could
have those hours of sleep I threw away now.
I was staring up into those stars. Thinking.
The stars, visible behind the glass dome of the laboratory appear behind him.
I recalled something, a distant memory.
His mother's face appears, briefly.
VICTOR leans against the equipment in the lab, staring deeply. He is glazed, bored, and
then...
He rises. Something has sparked in his brain.
VICTOR. A sudden light broke within me. Like the stars had fallen through the roof!
He begins to scribble furiously. WALTON stands behind him, watching.
WALTON. (to himself) What could it have been?
VICTOR. I had succeeded in discovering the cause of generating life itself! Among so
many men of genius... me... I am alone reserved to hold this secret! How can I... (he
stares at his work) Here it is.
He holds the parchment in front of him, in amazement and joy. WALTON tries to sneak a
look. VICTOR turns to look at him, clutching the parchment to his chest.
You cannot understand. After labouring for years, through years of ordinariness, years of
inward effort, my thoughts had turned outward and burned brighter than heaven!
Everything... within my grasp! How perfect I felt in that moment... you cannot know. Noone can know.
A moment. WALTON looks at VICTOR - he wants to know, badly.
VICTOR. This only came after I had examined the cause and process of decay with my
own eyes. I had spent days and nights in vaults and charnel houses. I beheld the
corruption of death succeed to the blooming cheek of life... and yet, in such darkness...
You think to see what I saw? To understand the very delicacies of humanity?
WALTON. I hope to understand you.
VICTOR. I do not recall the memories of a madman, Walton. What you hear is truth. I
have nothing to profit from weaving a fantasy for you.
WALTON. That was not what I... What was next? What did you do, next?
VICTOR. Not afraid?
WALTON. No.
VICTOR. Logically then, Walton... what was next?
WALTON. To follow through with that inspiration you had.
VICTOR. Yes.
WALTON. Anyone would be amazed to discover such a thing. Were you not... I would
have been struck down...
VICTOR. I had deserved it! Yes! I thought... I thought... nothing could feel as good as
this! I was so right to leave my family. Nothing could compare to this feeling, not hearing
Clerval's laughter, nor holding Elizabeth in my arms! In that moment; I was God!
WALTON. God.
VICTOR. And what does a God do? He creates.
WALTON. So you aimed to create life, then? In what form?
VICTOR. A guess, Walton. You know me well enough by now.
WALTON. Man?
VICTOR. Yes. Man in my own image. What could be a greater temptation to me than
that? To to give life to an animal as complex and wonderful as man...
WALTON. You took bodies?
VICTOR. Yes. The limbs of criminals, to start. They were easier to steal.
Behind, we see VICTOR FRANKENSTEIN, move past a moonlit landscape, dragging a
sack and a shovel.
WALTON. Did you tell anyone of these plans? Your professors, perhaps ClervalVICTOR. No. I did not believe I was doing anything wrong, anything occult, but I knew
that others were... near-sighted. Blinded by religious, spiritual ideas pertaining to things
that did not truly exist, not to me. And I would allow nothing to stop me.
WALTON. No. We all must dream, I suppose!... I am not so primitive to be disgusted by
the idea, you know, Frankenstein...
VICTOR. Neither was I. I was not raised that my mind should be impressed with
supernatural horrors.
WALTON. But you didn't tell anyone? Not even your Father?
VICTOR. No.
WALTON. Why not?
VICTOR. Well, when my father said 'Victor, don't believe in ghost stories', I don't
believe he intended for his son to become a graverobber, do you?
WALTON. So how did you...?
VICTOR. I used a shovel.
WALTON. I mean, as simply as that? I don't think that I should ever drag around corpses
in the name of scienceVICTOR. Have you loved?
WALTON. Loved?
VICTOR. Yes, loved, felt an excess of feeling for another human. Not necessarily a
woman, Walton...
WALTON. Yes.
VICTOR. Well then, suppose they whom you love or loved have a crippling illness.
WALTON. I should not like to think on that.
VICTOR. It's a little thought experiment is all, try not to be superstitious. If you don't go
to the graveyard and steal them, say, a heart, they will dieWALTON. That's preposterous.
VICTOR. Yes, but it illustrates my point. Would you let them die, or would you like to
borrow my shovel?
WALTON. I understand. But no-one was in danger where you were concerned.
VICTOR. No, no they weren't, but to me, in my mind, not discovering what I hoped to
was akin to say... your... sister, dying?
WALTON. You felt that passionately aboutVICTOR. Yes.
WALTON. God.
VICTOR. Mmm. That's more like it.
WALTON. What is? You speak so cryptically.
VICTOR. Your reaction. It is more of what I deserve.
WALTON. What you deserve?
VICTOR. As I was saying, I am not crippled by superstition. Or belief, of any sort,
except for that which I believed was possible. If some distant ghost or God had come to
ward me off my path, I might not be stood before you now. Mind you, such is my, was
my, arrogance... I would have spat at any warning.
WALTON. Why should you have been warned off? There is no magistrate who would
punish the son of an aristocrat for examining the entrails of criminals.
VICTOR. There is a God who would.
WALTON. Yes.
(pause)
WALTON. Were you successful?
VICTOR. What do you think? I know my dear friend, my dear Walton, what you are
thinking, and the answer to what you seek is sadly, no. That spark dies with me.
(laughing) It dies with me. Look, see, how the world destroys the man who aspires to
become greater than his nature will allow! The boy will not listen. Learn by example.
(WALTON exits.)
Who could conceive the horrors of my secret toil as I dabbled in damp graves, or tortured
living animals to animate the lifeless flesh I sew? I lost all my soul in this workshop of
filthy creation.
(VICTOR wheels a stretcher from the back. THE CREATURE lays upon it, a sheet
covering him and stirrups keeping him in place.)
But then... It wasn't filthy. It was beautiful.