Things that are awesome:
Gothic fantasy
Theatre in general (even musicals some of the time)
Danny Boyle (especially that time he was on Front Row being PASSIONATE and INSPIRING and DOWNRIGHT AMAZING)
The Enlightenment and values of the Romantic poets
Awesome horror prosthetics that make people look like their brains are leaking
Jonny Lee Miller writhing around naked
The National Theatre (yes, despite ‘Cuntgate’)
Things that are NOT awesome:
Danny Boyle’s Frankenstein
It all felt a bit Emperor’s New Clothes. People all around me literally LEAPT out of their seats to give a standing ovation at the end, screaming and whooping like we were all in the Byker Grove titles or something. But it was just totally mediocre, and I’m not just saying that because the woman next to me BREATHED LIKE A HORSE all the way through.
Nick Dear’s adaptation was cursory at best. If felt like he’d done an amazing job and then someone (Boyle perhaps) had come along to some meeting with flashcards saying ‘VITAL’ and ‘URGENT’ and demanded they replace all the important contextual stuff with a bunch of Victorian ne’er-do-wells clambering about on a FUCKING STEAMTRAIN. And oh my God some of the supporting actors were terrible. That farming couple who get burnt alive could’ve been in the Ambridge panto.
Jonny Lee Miller was the only saving grace really. Even after he’d put his clothes on he out-performed Cumbersnatch pretty comprehensively. I’ll withhold total judgement, just in case Cumberschlong is an equally fascinating Creature, but JLM really made me sympathise (and I can be a fucking cold-hearted bitch sometimes) with only a few Tourette’s twitches and a Daffy Duck voice. I hope he gets recognised for it with an award or summut next year. Best Redeeming Feature In An Overhyped Disappointment.
