Say
the name Frankenstein to anyone, and they smile and wait for the joke. That’s
because this monster has become a cartoon in our culture, appropriate for
Broadway musical parodies and Halloween costumes, but not much more.
However,
if you peer more carefully into the story by novelist Mary Shelley of the mad
scientist Victor Frankenstein and the creature he created in a lab, it’s a
whole different kettle of neck bolts. Indeed, the story of Frankenstein is breathtakingly
and immediately relevant to our world today.
In Frankenstein’s Wake, a new restaging now
at Cleveland Public Theatre, Holsinger and Bobgan use many of Shelley’s own
words, along with those of her husband Percy Bysshe Shelley and Isaac Newton,
to convey the torment of a hugely empathetic “daemon” who only seeks
acceptance. But due to its unusual appearance, it is rejected and demonized to
the point where it seeks violent retribution.
Frankenstein’s creation, animated from lifeless matter, was never a low-IQ,
natural born killer. He instead was intelligent, aware, and had noble qualities
that were perverted by the insensitivity--or stupidity, or fear--of society. (That goes double for his own creator, since Victor was appalled by what he
succeeded in bringing to life.) You can go ahead and apply that as an analogy
for any of the conflicts going on in the world today, including the ones inside
your head.
In
this elegantly constructed 65-minute piece, Holsinger and Bobgan invite you to
immerse yourself in the poetic words of Shelley and her contemporaries. Even though there is precious little action, and even if it's hard at times to keep up with the density of the language, the themes at work can ignite fireworks in
your mind.
As
the only performer, Holsinger uses her supple voice and gloriously specific, intention-driven
movement to captivate the audience. Occupying a stage with two long tables, a
couple chairs and a small collection of props, Holsinger takes on various
personae. These include Captain Robert Walton who encountered a nearly frozen
and emaciated Victor while Walton was on his way to discover new territory at the North Pole, as well as
Victor and the creature itself.
Eventually
utilizing white sheets that drape tables and chairs as funeral shrouds, the dead
bodies of people close to Victor begin to add up, And as we follow the daemon
through his introduction to the brutal condition of being human, we begin to
understand the price we pay when we seek to expand our knowledge, as Walton and Victor did. Increasing
knowledge is generally a good thing, of course, but there is a price to be paid. We
figured out how to split the atom and how to create fearsome armaments. But
those breakthroughs have an awful, even possibly a cataclysmic cost.
And
that is one of the intriguing questions this piece asks: Who or what are the
monsters among us? Is it the horrors we have created, or is it us? We are all
bobbing along in Frankenstein’s Wake,
helplessly buffeted by the fearsome creatures of our own making. Yeah, it’s
enough to give you shivers, but not in the way you might expect.
Frankenstein’s
Wake
Through
January 30 at Cleveland Public Theatre, 6415 Detroit Avenue, 216-631-2727.
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