Auckland Theatre Company Presents MARY: The Birth Of Frankenstein
From the minds of award-winning playwright Jess Sayer and director Oliver Driver, comes MARY: The Birth of Frankenstein – a blood-drenched phantasmagoria that reimagines the infamous stormy evening when Mary Shelley, the mother of gothic horror, conceived Frankenstein.Auckland Theatre Company proudly presents this world premiere, playing at the ASB Waterfront Theatre from 19 August – 7 September. You'd kill to get a ticket.
In the summer of 1816, a real-life gathering took place at the Villa Diodati on the shores of Lake Geneva. The sun had vanished. In its place: lightning, laudanum, lust, and something darker still. It was here that literary history was made, and monsters were born. Before the night ends, some creatures will emerge. Some made. And one that will haunt the world for generations.
' Can you not feel it? The power of possibility coursing through your veins? What if tonight we are not men, or women… but gods? '
Forget polite conversations from the drawing room. MARY is visceral horror with its teeth bared – part psychological thriller, part hallucinatory fever dream. Think Black Swan wielding words like weapons, stitched with the ferocity of Tarantino, and the spiralling intellect of Stoppard in a blackout. This is not a historical literary tribute. It is an unrelenting plunge into the creative abyss.
The notorious gathering of artistic rockstars is reimagined at their most wicked, burning bright and burning out. Director Oliver Driver adds, 'I want audiences to leave Googling these lunatics. I want them disturbed, exhilarated, and weirdly inspired.' At the centre is 18-year-old Mary (Olivia Tennet), consumed with conflict, her invincible perseverance overcomes all obstacles as she prepares to unleash something terrifying and claim it as her own. Surrounding her are the dangerous poet Lord Byron (Tom Clarke), wild and charming Percy Shelley (Dominic Ona-Ariki), volatile and jealous stepsister Claire (Timmie Cameron), and neurotic physician John Polidori (Arlo Green). When Byron dares them to write a ghost story, what follows is a descent into seduction, rivalry, and madness. Mary walks out with a legend, but at what cost?
Helmed by the same visionary director that brought audiences to the sell-out season of Amadeus in 2017, the production is packed with the theatrical firepower of Lighting Designer Jo Kilgour, Composer & Sound Designer Leon Radojkovic, and Movement Coach Ross McCormack. Adding to that power are spectacular costumes by acclaimed film designer Sarah Voon, making her thrilling theatrical debut, and Set Design by John Verryt. A fiendishly clever script by Jess Sayer brings a modern flavour to historical icons so audiences can 'engage with how cuttingly contemporary these artists were in their time.' Every element is meticulously crafted to conjure a stage alive with illusion, atmosphere, and the thrill of pure stagecraft.
MARY is a warning wrapped in spectacle. In an age where genetic engineering, artificial intelligence and unchecked ambition dominate headlines, this story feels more urgent than ever. It explores the fierce demands of creation – the sacrifices, the fury, and the power it takes to bring something new into the world. It's a tale of rebellion, of breaking societal constraints, of ambition and the need to be seen, and of the terrifying clarity that sometimes comes when you're pushed beyond your limits.
With the highly anticipated 2025 release of Guillermo del Toro's Frankenstein on Netflix, now is the time to return to where it all began.
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