Frankenkenstein

In Development Presentation

Duration: 35mins 

Frankenkenstein is a new, devised theatre piece by artist ellis cheadle, that draws on fragments of Mary Shelley’s iconic Gothic tale to explore monstrosity, ambiguity, and the relentless ways the past intrudes upon the present. After early development at What Lab’s Exquisite Pressure and HERE FOR NOW’s Boombox, Frankenkenstein is now being developed through Theatre Replacement’s COLLIDER Artist Residency and will be shared in-progress at HOLD ON LET GO in 2026.

Frankenkenstein is an indulgent autopsy of the Gothic genre, as stitched back together (again and again) by a hack surgeon. It’s a camp-horror theatrical collage set during a perpetually dark and stormy night. The performance acts as an exhibition of sorts - revealing the results of experiments performed on collective rememberings of Shelley’s Frankenstein. Structurally, the show takes inspiration from the musical canon - a form built on staggered, layered melodic loops. In Frankenkenstein, three performers weave together cheadle’s text and physical action, blurring beginnings and endings. The result is a stacking of ghastly motifs that constantly accumulate and unravel, forcing us to reckon with cryptic questions of action and consequence; monster-makers, and makers’-monsters. 

 

Written and Directed by ellis cheadle

Performed by Ashley Aron, Keely O'Brien, and Marc Arboleda

Music by Elliot Vaughan

Dramaturgy by Aryo Khakpour

Frankenkenstein is developed through Theatre Replacement’s COLLIDER Artist Residency. Early development of the piece supported by What Lab and HERE FOR NOW.

Photo Credit: Luciana F. D'anunciação