In 1818, Mary Shelley created one of the most iconic monsters in her gothic novel Frankenstein. The monster remains unnamed and is referred to as Frankenstein’s Monster, Victor Frankenstein creates the creature from various body parts collected over some time “donated” from deceased members of society that nobody would miss.
Benn Lynn plays the role of Victor Frankenstein the Swiss Natural Science student whose is driven by an obsession to bring his creation to life, without thinking about the consequences of his action, which allows the storyline to descend into the love/hate relationship between the creator and his monster.
Lynn descends into the mind of the hyper-focused science student on several occasions and you watch him twist and turn as his body attempts to keep up with the chaotic thoughts going on inside Victor’s head while he is creating and deciding what to do next.
The Monster is performed by Edmund Morris who crashes onto the stage after Victor inserts the final piece of the puzzle into his creation, of the heart bringing it to life with a bang. Morris writhes and crashes around as the monster wakes up tries to navigate movements and stands up for the first time.
The role and future wife of Victor, Elizabeth is played by Amy Lubach. In love with Victor although frustrated and concerned by his erratic behaviour and unaware of the existence of the monster.
Discarded Nut Theatre have included all of the key elements that keep the storyline of the play close to the original novel. Morris has a lot of sophisticated dialogue which the monster would have unlikely had and been able to communicate similarly. However, the play requires this narrative to understand the depth and complexity behind the monster’s actions and the desire to be more “human”.
A special mention has to go to year ten actor George Oldroyd in the role of Victor’s youngest brother William. This is Oldtlroyd’s first professional production and I don’t think it is going to be his last. There’s a promising career ahead for him if he continues on this path.
The casting for this production of Frankenstein is flawless. Each of the seven cast members fitted into the roles created by Shelley over two hundred years ago. Director Noel Jones has created a captivating and chilling production of the famous gothic novel.
For more about Frankenstein and Discarded Nut Theatre Company please visit the link below.
Four Stars.
Frankenstein is performing from Wednesday 12 March 20253:00 pm
Saturday 22 March 202510:00 pm
http://www.discardednut.co.uk/
https://www.thenutshellwinchester.com/
https://www.instagram.com/discardednuttheatreco?igsh=MXcwbGM4djdlaHlsNA==
Theatre, Art and Film Reviews 
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