A new theatrical adaptation of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein by Rona Munro will tour in 2019. The Frankenstein UK Tour starts in September at the Perth Theatre.
An eighteen year-old girl, Mary Shelley, dreams up a monster whose tragic story will capture the imaginations of generations to come.
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.
Rona Munro’s brilliant new adaptation of Mary Shelley’s Gothic masterpiece places the writer herself amongst the action as she wrestles with her creation and with the stark realities facing revolutionary young women, then and now.
Rona Munro said of the new production: “This story has been told and retold in hundreds of different versions since it was first written. But it remains the dark and rebellious roar of its adolescent author. Mary Shelley was only eighteen when she wrote the novel and she’d already broken every social rule that should have shaped her life. That’s the version of Frankenstein I’ve returned to, the version of the novel. The story is told in the voice of that defiant and passionate young girl accusing her elders, the culture of her age and intent on terrifying the whole world.”
Scottish screen actress Eilidh Loan is to star depicting Shelley herself onstage as the author personally unfolds her monstrous tale of creature and creator. With a cast also including Ben Castle-Gibb, Thierry Mabonga, Sarah MacGillivray, Natali McCleary, Michael Moreland and Greg Powrie
The production will be directed by Patricia Benecke, with composition and sound design by Simon Slater, lighting design by Grant Anderson and designed by Becky Minto.
The Frankenstein UK Tour is co-produced by leading company Selladoor (in the company’s tenth anniversary year), Matthew Townshend Productions, Belgrade Theatre Coventry, and Perth Theatre at Horsecross Arts, the production will tour nationwide from 2 September – 30 November 2019. Further dates and casting are yet to be announced.
FRANKENSTEIN UK TOUR
5 – 21 September 2019
Perth Theatre, Perth
24 – 28 September 2019
Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury
1 September – 12 October 2019
Belgrade Theatre, Coventry
14 – 19 October 2019
Brighton Theatre Royal
21 – 26 October 2019
King’s Theatre, Edinburgh
28 October – 2 November 2019
New Theatre, Cardiff
4 – 9 November 2019
Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, Guildford
11 – 16 November 2019
Liverpool Playhouse, Liverpool
18 – 23 November 2019
Richmond Theatre
25 – 30 November 2019
Theatre Royal Glasgow
13 – 18 January 2020
Malvern Theatres
20 – 25 January 2020
Derby Theatre
27 January – 1 February 2020
Theatr Clwyd
4 – 8 February 2020
His Majesty’s Theatre, Aberdeen
Lawrence Batley Theatre, Huddersfield
18 – 22 February 2020
Eden Court Inverness
24 – 29 February 2020
Middleton Arena Manchester
2- 7 March 2020
Aylesbury Waterside Theatre
