In March 2011, London was host to a festival of Frankenstein, centred on Nick Dear and Danny Boyle's adaptation of Mary Shelley's famous novel at the National Theatre, starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Johnny Lee Miller. Considered the first science fiction novel, its many film adaptations, spin-offs and variations have provided endless fascination for the public. Many subsidiary events tied in with the play, including interviews with writers and academics shedding light on the turbulent times during which the novel was written. Gothic fiction expert Christopher Frayling interviewed writer Nick Dear and director Danny Boyle about the the process of adapting the text and staging the work, in particular trying to avoid being influenced by Kenneth Branagh's 1994 film version (starring Robert deNiro as the Creature) by returning to the novel.
In another tie-in event, Richard Kelley interviewed Claire Tomalin, the biographer of Mary Shelley's renowned mother, Mary Wollstonecraft, as well as Young Romantics author Daisy Hay. In another event, popular science presenter Brian Cox was in conversation with Richard Holmes (author of the prize-winning Age of Wonder).
The British Library, which normally hosts Josephine Hart's poetry hour, also contributed to the 'Frankenfestival' where actors read works by Percy Shelley (Mary's husband) and Lord Byron. Finally, Bodleian Library in Oxford, in conjunction with the New York Public Library, hosted an extensive exhibition on Percy and Mary Shelley's manuscripts, including pages from the original draft of Frankenstein. This follows up on their publication of the original and more radical 1818 version of the novel in 2008. Most readers are familiar with the watered-down 1831 third-edition.
Claire Tomalin is author of The Life & Death of Mary Wollstonecraft (1974)
Claire Tomalin and Daisy Hay at the National Theatre
Danny Boyle director of the science fiction film Sunshine, which had Brian Cox as a science adviser, was director of the National Theatre's 2011 production of Frankenstein
Brian Cox (centre) and Richard Holmes (right) discuss the science behind the play
Christopher Frayling (left), Nick Dear (centre) and Danny Boyle (right) discuss the challenges of adapting the novel for the stage
In March 2011, London was host to a festival of Frankenstein, centred on Nick Dear and Danny Boyle's adaptation of Mary Shelley's famous novel at the National Theatre, starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Johnny Lee Miller. Considered the first science fiction novel, its many film adaptations, spin-offs and variations have provided endless fascination for the public. Many subsidiary events tied in with the play, including interviews with writers and academics shedding light on the turbulent times during which the novel was written. Gothic fiction expert Christopher Frayling interviewed writer Nick Dear and director Danny Boyle about the the process of adapting the text and staging the work, in particular trying to avoid being influenced by Kenneth Branagh's 1994 film version (starring Robert deNiro as the Creature) by returning to the novel.
The British Library, which normally hosts Josephine Hart's poetry hour, also contributed to the 'Frankenfestival' where actors read works by Percy Shelley (Mary's husband) and Lord Byron. Finally, Bodleian Library in Oxford, in conjunction with the New York Public Library, hosted an extensive exhibition on Percy and Mary Shelley's manuscripts, including pages from the original draft of Frankenstein. This follows up on their publication of the original and more radical 1818 version of the novel in 2008. Most readers are familiar with the watered-down 1831 third-edition.
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