Frankenstein shapes up to be a monster hit

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12 April 2012

A rush for day seats is expected after the National Theatre's already sold-out production of Frankenstein was hailed a bold visual masterpiece by the critics.

The reviewers gave an ecstatic welcome to film and TV director Danny Boyle's return to his theatrical roots after 20 years - an adaptation of Mary Shelley's classic story of the scientist and his monster.

Jonny Lee Miller, 38, and Benedict Cumberbatch, 34, who alternate in the lead roles, were highly praised.

Only Nick Dear's script and, for some, the surfeit of special effects prompted criticism.

Many members of the audience at the two press nights gave a standing ovation. Actress Emilia Fox, who caught the second night, said: "I thought it was absolutely phenomenal and I would like to sit down now and watch the other way round. The performances were breathtaking. It was one of the best things I've ever seen."

Abi Morgan, who wrote TV dramas Sex Traffic and Tsunami and the film Brick Lane, paid particular credit to Cumberbatch's "astonishing" turn as The Creature. "It was such a raw, naked performance," she said.

Director Rupert Goold, whose own stage hits include Enron, said Boyle made you feel as if surprise was just around the corner. "He's my kind of director. I admire and aspire to everything he does. It was bold and visual and he made that space unlike I've seen it before."

Simon Cowell, Greg Dyke, Matthew Macfadyen and Zoë Wanamaker were also in the audience.

Boyle, a former artistic director of the Royal Court, originally thought of doing Frankenstein with Dear two decades ago. The production reunites him with Miller, who starred in his hit film Trainspotting.

Some seats are available every day before a performance and more are due to go on sale next month. The play will also be shown in cinemas.

What the other critics say

The Guardian
Michael Billington
4/5

"The actors complement each other perfectly rather than provide a contest and Boyle's production is a bravura triumph."

The Independent
Paul Taylor
4/5

"These are imaginative productions that pack a devastating cumulative punch and score a singular success."

Daily Telegraph
Charles Spencer
4/5

"The show is a thrill - though the inevitable result of seeing it twice is that one does notice the occasional longueur, and the fact that Nick Dear's sometimes plodding script doesn't always live up to the brilliance of Boyle's direction or the nervy intensity of the lead performances."

Daily Mail
Patrick Marmion

"With the prodigious resources of the National Theatre at his disposal, Boyle directs the gothic classic like a kid in a toy shop. We even get a totally gratuitous steam engine."

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