The Bard stands with the Reformers of Peterloo, and their shared genius in teaching history with music and song
Latest editorial
Monstrous anger breathes life into Frankenstein staging
Wonderful: Harry Attwell as The Creature
[Johan Persson]
SUE TURNER is fascinated by a book that researches who the largely immigrant workforce were that built the Empire State
MARIA DUARTE and MALC McGOOKIN review Sirat, The Testament of Ann Lee, EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert, and All You Need Is Kill
STEVE ANDREW recommends a Marxist analysis of the long chains of production that global corporations exploit
MARY CONWAY relishes the period detail but misses the drama in this unsatisfactory dramatisation of the subjugated life of George Eliot
IAN SINCLAIR welcomes a mainstream scholar to the ranks of left-wing critique of US foreign policy
PETER MASON is disappointed that the eponymous Count fails to put in an appearance
Frankenstein
Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester
MARY SHELLEY was an enigma. Slight, weak and sickly pale, she eloped at 16 and by 20 had endured two pregnancies resulting in one death, with the other infant dying shortly afterwards
And yet she was the author of one of the most profound novels ever written. Dressed up as gothic horror, Frankenstein is not only the embryo of modern sci-fi, it is a highly political and proudly feminist book.
In the two centuries since she created her monster, Frankenstein has been reimagined in music, stage and film and even been appropriated by capitalism in order to sell all manner of kitsch. April De Angelis’s new adaptation for the Royal Exchange, lovingly faithful to Shelley’s original, is problematic.
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