WHEN English novelist Mary Shelley's Frankenstein was published in 1818 she didn't see it as being so popular that it would have many stage adaptations, plus sequels that were written by other people.
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Just five years after it was published it received its first theatrical treatment with Richard Brinsley Peake's Presumption! Or The Fate of Frankenstein. Shelley attended a performance and reported that, though she was "most amused", she thought the story was "not well managed".
And when films were initially presented in the early 20th century a short film which kept the book's name was made by the first film company established in the United States, a country that subsequently developed many very different Frankenstein films that had people very eagerly seeing them.
In 1931, for example, Boris Karloff, an actor who often played very demanding people, was a monstrous creature that was as sympathetic as it was frightening in the film Frankenstein.
And as the film was a hit, the film company produced a sequel, Bride of Frankenstein (1935), that also had many full houses, followed by several other films: Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (1943), House of Frankenstein (1944), and in 1948 its first comedy version Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein.
As the films attracted people of all ages, it's not surprising that an American playwright recently adapted the story for theatre stages, with the casts being mainly young people.
So the play's title is Kid Frankenstein.
Hunter Drama, a Newcastle theatre company that trains young people in acting and other theatre activities, such as directing and writing plays, is staging Kid Frankenstein at the Civic Playhouse, with six performances between Thursday, April 21, and Saturday, April 23.
It is an interesting play because the nature of the story has many of the friends who are in their teens played by a male or a female.
And while the play is often publicised as a just-for-kids version of Mary Shelley's classic novel, it remains true to Shelley's original text and has people of all ages enjoying it.
After Victor Frankenstein discovers the secret to life in the novel and uses it to build an eight-foot-tall monster, he realises he's made a creature that he can't take care of - or control.
Frankenstein and the monster chase each other across Europe, along the way learning lessons about ambition, the effects of technology on our lives, judging others based on looks, and the healing powers of nature.
In Kid Frankenstein Victor is a kid scientist, Frankie Stein, who collaborates with his friends, Irving and Helga, in creating a monster to help them win an award at the upcoming Science Fair. The kids sneak into the science lab to grab a monkey brain for their monster. But it gets mixed up with the brain of little Fluffy, a sweet puppy dog. Chaos ensues. Will the brain transference work? Can order be restored at the Science Fair? Will the villagers storm the kids' basement laboratory and ruin everything? And how will they react when they see the monster?
Kid Frankenstein has a brisk 50-minute running time. It has been directed by Tim Turner, who is an actor, educator and entertainer, with a strong passion for teaching and instilling the joy of performance in young people.
Another play that is being presented for young audiences, Guess How Much I Love You, has two sessions at Cessnock Performing Arts Centre on Tuesday, April 19.
It is a touring production presented by CDP Kids, a company that stages plays that young people find enjoyable.
The play was adapted by playwright Richard Tulloch from books by Sam McBratney and Anita Jeram that focus on two animals, Little and Big Nutbrown Hare, as they discover the magic and colour of the seasons.
Guess How Much I Love You runs for 55 minutes, with no interval. Its April 19 performances are at 10am and noon.
The play is being promoted as fun for the whole family, with beautiful puppetry, music and laughter for children aged 3 years and up. Tickets are $25, with ages 3 and younger not needing to have tickets if they sit on an older person's knee.
The Children
BRUNKER Community Theatre has announced the shows it will stage this year, with the first production, playwright Lucy Kirkwood's The Children, at last being able to be presented after having to be postponed twice in the past two years because of the COVID virus.
The Children will have eight performances over three weekends, between Friday, April 22, and Saturday, May 7. The production, which is directed by Meri Bird, has three well-known actors: Jan Hunt, Patrick Campbell, and Angela McKeown. Tickets - $25 - can be booked by phoning 0412 797 395 or sending an email to brunkertheatre@gmail.com.
The other Brunker Community Theatre 2022 shows are: Eden (June), A Vicar of Dibley Christmas (July), Nunsense (August), and The Full Monty (November).
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