News Story
Oxford Playhouse is delighted to host imitating the dog and Leeds Playhouse for a unique and moving new adaptation of Mary Shelley’s iconic Gothic tale, Frankenstein, playing on the Main Stage from Thursday 29 February to Saturday 2 March.
A storm gathers outside as a couple pack up a room. Clothes and toys are carefully stored away in boxes and bags. Lightning flashes. Picking up a book, the woman reads aloud. It’s a story about ambition and playing God, and about what happens when we bring new life into the world. It’s also about rejection, horror, and revenge. It’s the story of Frankenstein.
As the couple confront their own fears, they re-create a version of Frankenstein that erupts into life as everyday objects are transformed into glaciers, a ship at sea, a cottage in a forest, a dissecting room, a house on fire…
The two-hander will feature Georgia-Mae Myers (Titus Andronicus, Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre; Wars of the Roses & Henry VI – Rebellion, Royal Shakespeare Company; and Dismissed, Soho Theatre) and Nedum Okonyia (Possession, Arcola Theatre).
Created by imitating the dog’s Co-Artistic Directors Pete Brooks, Andrew Quick and Simon Wainwright, this multimedia exploration of Mary Shelley’s classic novel is a psychological thriller which dares to ask the question – what is it to be human?
Andrew Quick, Co-Director and Artistic Director of imitating the dog said:
“Mary Shelley’s novel has shaped storytelling since the 19th Century and provided source material for films, novels, poems, and art. Having already adapted Heart of Darkness (2018) and Dracula (2021), we feel ready to take on this complex and moving tale, one which explores the consequences of refusing love, of playing at being God, of not taking responsibility.
It will have all the hallmarks of an imitating the dog production, but we are renewing our interest in the physical and the visual that played out in our earlier work. Our focus is to create something truly magical, that is both moving and disturbing. It will be Frankenstein, but perhaps not as you know it.”
Set and Costume Designer Hayley Grindle has created a dynamic, transformative space, which houses the digital tricks and video-mapping techniques associated with imitating the dog. Her theatre credits include Macbeth (Leeds Playhouse), Oliver Twist (Leeds Playhouse, Ramps on the Moon & UK tour) and As You Like It (Queens Theatre Hornchurch & National Theatre).
The full creative team includes: Video Associate Davi Callanan; Lighting Designer Andrew Crofts; Composer & Sound Designer James Hamilton; Video System Designer Alan Cox; Co-Sound Designer and Technical Lead on Tour Rory Howson; Choreographer Casper Dillen; Company Stage Manager Anja Bryan-Smith; and Casting Director Ellie Collyer-Bristow.
