Something very wonderful is on stage at the Studebaker Theater this pre-Halloween weekend. A haunting affair, one part horror and another strange beauty, the Chicago-based Emmy-award-winning performance collective Manual Cinema is staging its mesmerizing multimedia production of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.
The show, wordlessly—and peerlessly—acted, combines puppetry, silent film, live action, music, and utilizing the immense artistic potential of an old-school overhead projector to tell Shelley’s sad tale of the perils of creation, for creature and creator alike. This innovative use of multimedia elements creates a deeply immersive experience, drawing the audience into the emotional and psychological depths of Shelley’s narrative. The hauntingly beautiful visuals, combined with a poignant musical score, evoke a sense of melancholy and wonder, perfectly capturing the essence of the original story.
Many are familiar with the origin story of Frankenstein—the result of a contest to write the best "ghost story" between Mary, her husband the poet Percy Shelley and their friend Lord Byron. What's less well known is that Mary wrote under the shadow of the recent death of her infant—tragic circumstances that Manual Cinema uses to frame its retelling.
The result is a hypnotic meditation on three juxtaposed acts of creation: the birth of a soon-to-be-lost baby, of Shelley's manuscript and of Frankenstein's monster. This layered approach adds a profound depth to the performance, making it not just a visual spectacle but also an emotional journey. The intertwining of these acts of creation highlights the themes of loss, grief, and the consequences of playing god.
The performance is staged with great ingenuity by just five actors/puppeteers. Co-artistic director Sarah Fornace takes on the dual roles of Mary Shelley and Victor Frankenstein, delivering a compelling portrayal of both the creator and the author. And Julia Miller brings The Creature to life with a haunting and nuanced performance that captures the character’s tragic lonely essence. Accompanied by four on-stage musicians: the nine performers revolve with balletic precision across the stage, moving from one intricate setup to the next, all synchronized with a haunting score by Ben Kauffman and Kyle Vegter.
The result is a stunning experience, both visually and emotionally, that appropriately haunts the audience long after the final curtain.
The sold-out show runs just through Sunday, October 27. But, we will soon have the opportunity to see Manual Cinema's innovative take on another famous ghost story—they return to the Studebaker Theatre this December for a two-week production of A Christmas Carol.
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