Squidge of 70s camp greases the wheels of comedy with classic horror – Frankenstein

Frankenstein on a Budget, A LampLight Theatre Production, at the Albany Theatre for one night only on 6 September. Review by Annette Kinsella.

Annette dedicates her review to Ben Crowther for Go Gold for Childhood Cancer month this month. 

Technology imitating humans – what could be more relevant today, given the panic surrounding artificial intelligence? No sooner had I mastered Chat GPT (Most recent prompt: Please can you tell me how to get from Euston to Kensington High Street as though you were instructing a 12 year old travelling alone for the first time?) than I was plunged into utter despair by myriad media stories proclaiming that humans must imminently relinquish their jobs, homes and all hope for the future to a faceless Silicon Valley bot intent on seizing control of the universe. Hey! I just wanted help to find my way on the underground!

All this, of course, is nothing new.  More than 200 years ago, Georgian bookworms were in a flap after Mary Shelley convinced them all that science was about to spawn a new race of morally bankrupt monsters shambling murderously through the Arctic Circle in pursuit of revenge. I am referring of course to Frankenstein, the (now extremely prescient) 1818 sci fi classic detailing the hopelessly misguided efforts of Dr Victor Frankenstein to imitate the creation of human life using nothing more than an electrical spark and a decaying body. Excellent plan, Victor. What could possibly go wrong.

Annette Kinsella waiting for Frankenstein.

As we all know, plenty. Frankenstein’s creature escapes and assumes his own free will vehemently, with horrific consequences. Well, previously horrific – but now also hilarious, courtesy of Frankenstein On A Budget, the one-person (ish) musical fresh from the Edinburgh Fringe Festival at the Albany Theatre.

Tom Fox, ably accompanied by narrator Becky Owen-Fisher and a series of ramshackle cardboard props, takes on all roles as we join Dr Frankenstein on a rollercoaster journey through the events that led him to his fateful creation. Never mind Frankenstein’s monster – Fox himself is a weird and wonderful conglomeration of Ken Dodd, Rik Mayall and Alan Carr, bringing Rocky Horror energy to the Gothic antihero. The breakneck costume changes, a generous squidge of 70s camp and a hefty dollop of Hammer House of Horror vibes grease the wheels of the show, which dashes between a Geneva lakeside, a windswept Scottish tarn and a blustery mountaintop all in the space of an hour. In one of his most dazzling transformations, Fox becomes an acid yellow Lycra-clad bolt of lightning. Squint and you have Har Mar Superstar, electropop and all.

All in all, this was great fun – an end-of-their pier Carry On humour underpinned by genuine acting and singing talent. In the interests of transparency, I must admit I have laughed more at one other Frankenstein-themed joke, which was of course the magnificent meme that did the rounds a couple of years ago, featuring a picture of the novel’s last page. After Shelley’s ultimate poignant sentence: ‘He was soon borne away by the waves and lost in the darkness’, was a biro scrawl, penned by the world’s greatest anonymous comedy writer. ‘As he drifted away I could just make out his final words. “You can call me Frankenstein instead of Frankenstein’s monster if you like. I really don’t mind”.’ Thank you and goodnight.

See what else is coming up at the Albany Theatre: https://www.albanytheatre.co.uk/