Frankenstein: Version 2 (2011)

 

Watching the same production with alternating leads is fascinating.  It’s like Miller and Cumberbatch are the variables in an equation:  the two small changes that effect the whole outcome.  While so much is the same, so much is different, either subtly or significantly.  The equal-yet-opposite version 2 features Miller as the Creature and Cumberbatch as Frankenstein.

 

Exhibit A:  Jonny Lee Miller’s Creature.  Right from the start, he’s less gangly than the long-limbed Cumberbatch, so his movements aren’t as reminiscent of a baby deer trying to stand up.  Rather, he sidles along with a timid, light-footed shuffle, perched on his toes like he’s ready to take flight at a moment’s notice.  His Creature is more forceful; when he confronts Frankenstein and when he demands answers in a confusing world, you can feel the weight behind it.  And yet, he is at the same time almost heartbreakingly vulnerable.  I hope that fans who saw him live still took the opportunity to see this recording, because his facial expressions are worth the price of admission.  I think of the scene where he is touched kindly by another person for the first time – he is shy and apprehensive, but also so starved for contact and affection.  Just masterful.

 

In general, I think that Cumberbatch’s Creature is, to me, more endearing, while Miller’s is a little more complex.  Throughout the play, Cumberbatch’s Creature has a spirit of playfulness and childlike verve that he never quite loses.  Even when he rages against his circumstances or does horrible things, there’s still the tiniest spark to suggest that he’s playing a game.  Miller’s Creature incorporates that childishness to a point, but it’s one of several states swirling within him.  He’s more contemplative, more focused.  He’s shyer, and his heartbreak is a little more piercing.  Truly, I rate the two performances as equally superb for different reasons.

 

Meanwhile, I’d definitely give a slight edge to Benedict Cumberbatch’s Frankenstein over Miller’s.  Miller’s is excellent, but Cumberbatch’s leaves me with a far greater impression.  I can see details of his Sherlock peeking through, that intellectual mania and incurable drive to know.  He is somehow colder (the appraising way he examines his fiancée, like a specimen, is palpably creepy) and warmer (when he describes the mental anguish he’s experienced since animating the Creature, I don’t doubt him for a second.)  It could be that Cumberbatch just has a different energy as an actor – he tends to create characters while the more understated Miller creates people – but his Frankenstein is a stronger presence in the show.

 

I’d say that, overall, the interactions between Frankenstein and the Creature are better here than in version 1, and they bowl me over there!  I’m not even sure why; they just connect in such an electric way.  Maybe it’s the strength of Cumberbatch’s Frankenstein.  Maybe it’s because Miller’s Creature seems a little more grown-up.  Maybe it’s simply my perceptions, having now seen both men in both roles.  Whatever the reason, it’s magic.

 

It seems unsporting to ask me to pick a favorite version.  If pressed, I’d probably slightly favor version 1, but that’s largely due to the first-time factor (similar to the way Christopher Eccleston’s Doctor holds such a special place in my estimation.)  Both versions are absolutely stellar, not to mention engaging enough that my attention didn’t wander seeing the same play 24 hours apart.  If you haven’t seen either, cross your fingers for future showings and – please, for my sake – an eventual DVD release, because it’s really an experience not to be missed.