Frankenstein
Lemonhead’s production was a Maltese adaptation of Mary Shelley’s classic gothic novel, Frankenstein.
Many people were familiar with the tale of Victor Frankenstein (played by Bryan Muscat), the highly gifted medical student who embarked on an experiment that had tragic consequences. Driven by unremitting ambition, he took it upon himself to bestow life on a corpse. Victor succeeded in his intent only to be engulfed by regret and remorse almost immediately. As a result, he abandoned the being (Noel Tanti) that he had created.
However, this creature was not the ignorant monster that Victor believed him to be. It turned out that the creature was highly sensitive and quick to adapt. In fact, he learned most survival skills simply by observing others. His major setback was his horrendous appearance, which made people think that he was a devil spawned by hell.
Scriptwriter Noel Tanti took Mary Shelley’s tale and juxtaposed it with a contemporaneous tale of a young woman, Francesca (Kimberly Cioffi), whose life was utterly dominated by her bitter mother (Pauline Cordina). The latter had gone through a terrible ordeal in her youth, which continued to haunt her. She did not seem to want to let go of the past, and this generated much tension in the relationship between the two women.
This was Lemonhead’s tenth theatrical production in seven years. Frankenstein was directed by Bryan Muscat and produced by Louise Muscat. The play was held in April 2007 at the MITP Theatre in Valletta.
