On Wednesday 28 August, the Year 9 Theatre Studies class were fortunate to be able to travel to the Princess Theatre, Melbourne to see Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, created by Shake and Stir Productions.
We had been studying the script version in classes prior to the event and we plan on performing our own version (excerpts) of this later in the year, so it was a wonderful opportunity to see a live professional interpretation of it. To say the students were in awe of this is an understatement. The actors combined with a simple, yet hugely effective set and had us sitting on the edge of our seats. This production used all the technical elements to its advantage: watching a cabin being burnt down on stage, the hideous monster coming to life the use of a revolving stage, huge screens on which moving images were shown and the haunting music and audio were all outstanding and added another dimension to this popular story. The actors used clever narrating to allow the story to move along as well as showcase the supporting actors, all of whom played multiple roles. Themes such as prejudice, revenge and loneliness and isolation were explored well and have allowed for many good discussions as to who was in the wrong.
Special thanks to Ms Tascone, Mrs Warrick and Mr Raphael for coming along to support our students.
Ms Lou Devoy
On Wednesday 28 August, the Year 9 Theatre Studies class saw the production Frankenstein, adapted by theatre company Shake and Stir. The show ran for a limited time. This was a unique opportunity for our students to watch artists at work and potentially glean some ideas for their production later in the year. The story Frankenstein is about a person named Victor Frankenstein who creates a monster. This monster slowly becomes evil and start killing Frankenstein’s family and friends. The sets were a brilliant mix of minimalistic and realistic ideas, and the light patterns were created to shock the audience and add the element of fear to the horror story.
The play was absolutely amazing. With a cast of six they managed to play fifteen different roles, a testament to the talent of all involved. The special effect included sparks and flames on the stage making the performance surprising at moments and scary at others. Sets included actual structures, a rotating stage and screens that were able to be flown in and out. This provided an element of change, so that unless it was intentional, no two scenes ever looked the same. The Year 9 Theatre Studies class would like to thank Ms Devoy, Ms Tascone, Mr Raphael and Ms Warrick for organising and accompanying us on this exciting and productive day.
Harry Rodman, Year 9
On Wednesday 28 August, the Year 9 Theatre Studies class went to see Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein adapted by Shake and Stir at the Princess Theatre. This show was very interesting to watch and showed the story in a pleasing way.
This show contained many moving parts and practical effects to put together and all of that was done with only 6 cast members. The lighting and sound effects really expanded and made the emersion of the show a lot deeper. This show contained the use of a revolve and used it well to quickly and smoothly change set and scene. The practical effects and use of fire really help expand the depth of this show. Not to mention the incredible acting of the cast that brought the whole show together and wouldn’t have happened without out them as they portrayed so much emotion and detail thought their body language and tone.
If you haven’t seen this show go see it now as it can only be described as a once in a lifetime opportunity!
James White, Year 9
