Frankenstein or The Modern Prometheus.

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley is one of my favourite reads. It's dark, gothic and is bubbling with hidden messages and meanings from the start. It also happens to be the next play we're set to perform after the Camden Fringe Festival has concluded at the end of August.

I've got the fun job of adapting the novel to play-form and directing the piece. I can't wait. I'm currently assembling a cast of talented actors/actresses to bring the characters to life and with rehearsals set to start in June the excitement is starting to build.

So many things are screaming for my attention at the moment from day to day life, social media engagement, directing my first original piece 'Three Blinks For...' which is debuting at the Camden Fringe and a million other things which have currently escaped me.

We've secured the theatre we're using for the play and a recent meeting with Nick and Becky who manage and run the venue has filled us with optimism for the future. As a new vibrant theatre company it is really important to build up awareness whilst staying true to our founding values.

These were quite simple, after all if you go too complex we're bound to flounder. We wanted to bring accessible theatre to the public as an option of having to go with a big city and pay the associated costs. As I mentioned we're hitting London ourselves in a few months but we're also looking at a kaleidoscope of other venues both near and far. With this goal we wanted to help raise funds/awareness of local charities or community groups in the areas we go to perform in. The power of social media is such that once people or organisations have 'x' followers or 'likes' then the messages they want to shout about can be heard much louder and have a great resonance with the social pool.

Lastly we wanted to develop talent. Half our cast in the debut production of 'A Doll's House' had never graced a stage before and this provides a refreshing compliment to those of us with more experience and stage time. The blend is quite energising as the 'new comers' arrived to each rehearsal with so much gusto and positivity, it was hard not to allow that to wash over us. The remit is the same for our fringe pieces and also with Frankenstein, which we will be auditioning roles imminently.

To close though and in keeping with the title of this blog article, Frankenstein allows people of all ages a chance to escape life for a short while and return to times when wonder and adventure were commonplace. I was recently reading one of the books by the late Tyrone Guthrie who said seeing Peter Pan as a youngster had a lasting impact on his ultimate decision to go into theatre. Luckily with the recent run of the play in London with Jonny Lee Miller and Benedict Cumberbatch there is a precedent of it being successful. Hopefully our offering can have a unique slant on the piece and give some small encouragement to those who come to see it. Maybe they'll decide that theatre is something they're interested after all.
 
Thanks for reading :)