Stu Mcloughlin and Howard Coggins in Frankenstein at the Salisbury Playhouse. Picture: The Other Richard
Frankenstein continues at the Salisbury Playhouse until 5 November, then tours to the Tropicana, Weston-super-Mare from 12-20 November.
Star rating: three stars ★ ★ ★ ✩ ✩
Any show that ends with two men in their underpants playing guitars as they belt out an anthem to family values can’t be all bad. And much of comedy duo Living Spit’s ‘monstrously rewritten’ version of Frankenstein is very good stuff.
At its best, it’s musically strong, physically very funny and verbally dextrous with daft touches and big funny bone moments. But slicing 30 minutes or so off the running time would have produced a tighter show.
Bristol-based Living Spit was formed in 2012 around the twin talents of composers, writers and performers Howard Coggins and Stu Mcloughlin, who made a name for themselves playing small venues around Somerset and Avon with their off-beat take on subjects ranging from Tudor history to the Second World War.
Salisbury Playhouse’s studio space has been a regular tour date for them, but this co-production – part of the Playhouse’s commitment to original drama – has handed them a slot in the main house and I’m not sure it’s as comfortable a fit as a more intimate venue.
Their performance style breaks down the fourth wall with endearing regularity and would work better in a smaller auditorium.
That said, it has a lot going for it, not least the contribution of the onstage four piece band – Tom Knott, Lauryn Redding, Mike Slader and musical director Rebekah Hughes – who double as puppeteers, brides of Frankenstein and assorted extras.
Coggins and McLoughlin play Frankenstein and the Creature and just about everybody else with energy and flair. The bones of Mary Shelley’s Gothic horror story are there but the flesh – just like the Creature – is a cobbled together fusion of slapstick, music hall, physical comedy and witty banter.
We witness Victor Frankenstein’s upbringing and family life with brother William – a cute puppet who meets a sticky end – and adopted orphan sister Elizabeth to studies at Ingolstadt University and his resolve to create a sentient being, apparently sparked as much by the death of his pet hamster Greg as grief for his mother’s passing.
The developing love affair between Victor and Elizabeth is a good excuse for a very funny song about incest (?!) and some cross-dressing, while the Creature’s time spent with the De Lacey family gives rise to a foot-tapping bluegrass number, one of many musical styles plundered throughout the show.
Both performers are also good singers and one or two of the songs – touching on loneliness and isolation – unexpectedly moving.
At a shorter length and in a village hall or studio, this would have been a great night out. As it is, it’s fun, but feels overstretched.
Lesley Bates
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