Mary wrote ‘Frankenstein’ when she was only 21 years old – a similar age to the adaptor and director of this play. The book was first made into a film 85 years ago and was true to the text, by giving the creature real depth and personality. In the 1960s, a string of tacky films came out from companies like Hammer, when the creature was a monster with a bolt through his neck, giving the occasional grunt.

One of Perth’s most respected independent theatre companies, Second Chance Theatre, is proudly presenting this Gothic classic at the Nexus Theatre at Murdoch University until Saturday 23^rd July. The amazing performances are 2 hours 40 minutes long – with one interval – and commence at 7.30 pm.

At the rear of the stage is a raised platform that acts as the brig of a ship, and later as street level.

Stage right is the home of Victor, stage left is the Captain’s cabin on the ship. This ingenious and versatile set was adapted from those of the previous two plays in the Gothic series, again designed by Allison Snell. The numerous slick scene changes were under the supervision of stage manager Georgia Smith and her assistant Dylan Dorotich.

        The snow is falling. It is a bleak winter and a ship has become trapped in the Arctic ice. On board are a desperate crew, and landlubber, Victor Frankenstein (Scott McArdle), a scientist who has paid the female captain, Walton (Rhianna Hall) to help him escape a nightmare. Victor starts to explain to the captain his strange past, and why he left Switzerland in a hurry.

        Fifteen years earlier as a weakly, bullied child, Victor was the first born of Alphonse (John King) and Caroline Frankenstein (Izzy McDonald). He became a stepbrother to their adoptees, Henry (Launcelot Ronzan) and beautiful Elizabeth (Shannon Rogers) – whom they hoped Victor would ultimately marry. Eventually the Frankensteins managed to give birth to another child of their own, a cheery young lad called William (Toni Vernon).

        The children were lovingly cared for by the maid, Josephine (Ellin Sears), the cook (Kate Willoughby) and butler (Andrew Dawson). Then one evening, an accident on the farm resulted in the death of Frau Frankenstein. Feeling lost, Victor sets off to Ingolstadt University to study anatomy and physiology under Professor Dippel (Jenia Gladziejewski). Victor finds some miserable lodgings, with an even more miserable landlord (Stephen Platt).

       Wishing to further his studies and theories, Victor visits a few mortuaries, ingratiating himself with two of the attendants (Daniel Buckle, Justin Crossley). He ‘borrows’ bodily parts from their morgue. One stormy night, a flash of lightning energises Victor’s creation. The Creature (Laughton Mckenzie) is born.

        The Creature’s only friends are a pack of wolves (Rhys Hyatt, Jenia Gladziejewski, Ellin Sears). He meets and helps a poor blind man, Felix (Alex McVey) and his thoughtful daughter, Agatha (Abbey McCaughan) but a tragedy befalls them, and an unfortunate old tramp (Andrew David) who gets in the way.

        With a wedding in the offing, Elizabeth takes on a ‘special’ butler, De Lacey (Rhys Wyatt).

Scott McArdle has wisely taken us back to the original script and theme, by allowing us to see behind the broken body of the hapless ‘creature’. This ‘vision’ took us on an emotional rollercoaster ride, first we feel sorry for the creature and wish it success; before we hit the skids and witness it crashing into another killing spree. The writing skills exhibited in this adaptation are exceptional; just a little subtle humour, a genuine feeling of hopelessness for the creature, rapidly followed by anger at attitudes of the public to this poor human.

There are a couple of incredible wild horses in this play that can be seen through the subdued, misty light. Their eyes glow, they can rear up and trot convincingly around the stage, superbly designed by Anna Sheehy (assisted by Andrew David and Sam Knox) and controlled by the equine wrangling team of Joel Sammels, Tay Broadley and Abbey McCaughan.  Likewise, the wolves sniffed around, showed apprehension and even circled like real animals before they lay down. It was the attention to such minute details that took this whole concept to that only expected of a major professional production.

The complex lighting (designer Scott McArdle, operator Sarah Bond) and crisp sound effects (Katie Southwell) played a major part in the presentation of this play. There were a multitude of effect such as snow, just the right amount of fog and mist, with well-placed lights and perfectly chosen colours to augment the mood. The costumes (Sophie Braham, assisted by Allison Snell, Bella Doyle, Melanie Buchanan) ranged from the tatty urchins to the sumptuous ball gowns of Elizabeth. Every costume fitted immaculately, and was made from fabrics of the era – not simply cotton dyed or painted to appear realistic. The shoes and accessories were carefully chosen.

The makeup design is always important, but in this play the Creature has to look realistically disfigured and not ridiculous. The horrendous scarring and gore was thanks to the talented hard work of Leah Toyne.

The musical soundscape was once again the clever work of Drew Krapljanov, who has just the right touch of matching the scene’s atmosphere with the correct emotion in music. Especially in a play like this, one should be unaware of any accompaniment without actually listening for it. The notes should be mellifluous, invisibly and smoothly coating the vision.

The technical manager, Keaton Howe, and the production managers, Andrew David and Scott McArdle have gone for quality and at no point have they taken the soft option. Quality was always paramount.

It is easy to say that ‘all of the actors did well’, but in this case it is true. The entrances and exits slick, the diction clear, the body language and chemistry exceptional for EVERY single member of the cast. Some stunning and moving performances, but I must give a special mention to Scott McArdle as Victor, and Laughton Mckenzie as the Creature – WOW !!

The thing I like mainly about Murdoch productions is that you can sense that every member of the cast and crew are keen, truly enjoying themselves and determined to give the audience a great night out, by using every ounce of their skills. Enthusiasm brings perfection. A great show that will last in our memories for decades to come.

This superb adaption of ‘Frankenstein’ can be strongly recommended to amateur and professional theatre everywhere. Give yourselves and your audiences something different.

This 18+ play is being produced by Second Chance Theatre in the Murdoch Drama Workshop, adjacent to Car Park 4, Banksia Drive, Murdoch University, Murdoch.

The sensibly priced tickets are available at the door. The curtain goes up nightly at 7.00 pm until Saturday 30^th August, with one matinée on Saturday afternoon at 1.00 pm.

The set is a black tile design, with white grouting lines. A dormitory area at the front of the stage has three areas of bedding. An office desk at the rear is the warden’s office, with shower areas on each side. The stage is starkly furnished, the emptiness emphasises the isolation and sinister desolation of this 2600 AD concentration camp. (Set and Graphic Design by Nicola Rivers, with some good effects by Stage Manager Milly Dee).

         Since the beginning of time, the weakest groups of people have been picked on by the others. At school 50 years ago, a person with a disability, unusual hair colour or sexual ‘peculiarity’ was instantly an ideal target. They were ‘weak freaks’ who did not conform to society. Now, thankfully, things have generally changed for the better; but with this reform to ‘all being equal’, general good manners can often be considered condescending or patronising. In this story we are taken 600 years into the future, where attitudes have become even more extreme.

      The superficially caring, Doctor Benjamin (Rhys Hyatt) has a new guest at his Facility; she is the highly spirited, intelligent Charlotte (Emily David). As bow-tied, Doctor Ben jokes his way around the amenities tour, Charlotte spots a naked man, Ethan (Scott McArdle) standing motionless in a bucket of cold water. In another corner, lying on the floor is Juliet (Jade Galambosi). She is wearing the regulation grey T-shirt and wool shorts (Wardrobe, Sophie Braham). Charlotte tries to strike up a conversation and show sympathy, but to this Institution, it is a sign of weakness and she is moved on by the ‘kind’ doctor.

      Charlotte discovers that poor Juliet has had a lobotomy, and so is now a harmless member of society. Dr Ben explains the routine of 4 showers per day, interspersed with demonstrations of ‘affection’ towards him. The whole establishment is under the watchful eye of numerous surveillance cameras, all supervised by The Warden (Laughton Mckenzie), an intelligent and logical man, who is actually totally insane and with no moral standards.

    The warped Dr Ben is obviously the Warden’s puppet, but can Ethan’s controlled and submitting silence win him freedom from this hell hole?

Under the well thought-out direction came from the actors themselves. The rich characters, each with their own style of dialogue, attitudes to life and personalities are perfectly presented by the five actors. McArdle, who has already proven himself as a fine writer, director and techie – this lighting design (smoothly operated by Rhianna Hall) instantly depicts the atmosphere required – now sets himself up for a most challenging role, demanding both nudity and displaying a man under tremendous stress.

This Facility has all kinds of torture, physical and mental. Hyatt gave a great performance as a cool leader who could have a massive mood swing at the mention of a single word. The performance was slightly caricaturised, but this helped emphasis the cold, calculating, uncaring manner of the perverted Warden (Mckenzie).

Emily David gave a powerful performance as the new guest, who fearlessly stood up to the controllers. With tears in her eyes, she had several moments when you thought she was going to crack at their attitudes, before carrying on boldly. Jade Galambosi captured the easy going ‘vegetable’ existence, which was still capable of tremendous emotional outbursts.

The atmosphere was topped off with an amazing soundscape (Composer, Aiden Willoughby) that subtly rumbled along in the background; with occasional blend of angelic voices, bringing that slight sign of hope to this wretched establishment.

This is not an easy show to watch, but the stark and brave approach holds one’s concentration for the full 80-minutes, bringing a new genuine fear for the future of the world.