As actor Eilidh Loan prepares to brings Frankenstein to Coventry’s Belgrade Theatre, she talks about her first connection with the story, discovering more about Mary Shelley and overcoming a fear of reading created by dyslexia. Have a listen, then book your tickets!
Rona Munro‘s adaptation of Shelley’s tale, which is co-produced by the Belgrade Theatre, Selladoor Productions, Matthew Townshend Productions and Perth Theatre at Horsecross Arts, runs at the Midlands venue from 1 to 12 October 2019 as part of a UK tour.
A young scientist by the name of Frankenstein breathes life into a gruesome body. Banished into an indifferent world, Frankenstein’s creature desperately seeks out his true identity, but the agony of rejection and a broken promise push him into darkness. Dangerous and vengeful, the creature threatens to obliterate Frankenstein and everyone he loves, in a ferocious and bloodthirsty hunt for his maker.
Munro’s Frankenstein puts author Mary Shelley squarely at the centre of the action, stripping away the additions and augmentations added by versions created over the years and taking it back to the novel and, as Munro puts it, “the dark and rebellious roar of its adolescent author”.
Mary Shelley
Loan plays the central role of Shelley, having previously appeared in TV series Clique, London Kills and Doctors. Ben Castle-Gibb makes his professional stage debut as Victor Frankenstein, with Michael Moreland as the creature. Thierry Mabonga, Sarah MacGillivray, Natali McCleary and Greg Powrie complete the cast.
Patricia Benecke, Creative Associate of the Belgrade Theatre whose credits include The Furies/Land of the Dead/Helter Skelter and Monsieur Ibrahim and the Flowers of the Qu’ran, directs Frankenstein.
Listen to the interview
