Frankenstein Reviews

Washington Post- Highly Recommended

"...Those opening atmospherics give way, suddenly and startlingly, to a titanic thunderclap and a strobed glimpse of what looks for an instant like your standard mad-scientist lab setup. (The design elements, courtesy of scenarist Andrew Boyce, costumer Kaye Voyce, lighting guru Neil Austin, sound artist Andre Pluess and projectionist Elizabeth Barrett, prove uniformly superb and enviably unified.)"

MetroWeekly- Somewhat Recommended

"...And when it comes to the Creature, you might argue that this play was always meant to be seen as some kind of multi-layered this or that, a thing more construct than narrative, and so on. But the complexity of this Frankenstein feels too much the focus. It’s more a gothic miasma of themes than a story well told."

Talkin Broadway- Highly Recommended

"...Advance interest in the Shakespeare Theatre Company's world-premiere adaptation of Frankenstein has been so intense that, prior to opening, the company added an extra week of performances at their Klein Theatre in Washington. Playwright and director Emily Burns' adaptation of the classic novel by Mary Shelley is suspenseful without resorting to gore or shock effects; it focuses on the all too human natures of the characters."

Washington City Paper- Highly Recommended

"...It is a packed house on opening night of Shakespeare Theatre Company's production Frankenstein. Onstage angular, dark wood beams frame a tall, imposing fireplace and a singular chair sits with a robe hanging on its back. Atmospheric lighting by Neil Austin and an eerie soundscape by Andre Pluess create the sense of haunting loss that anchors the production. But no green-skinned monster ever grunts into the frame. Instead, the monster in British director and writer Emily Burns' adaptation is grief, privilege, and masculine neglect."

Stage and Cinema- Recommended

"...Based on Mary Shelley's iconic novel, a bold retelling of Frankenstein opened last night at STC's Klein Theater in Washington D.C. It's not the story you might expect - and in this case, that's a good thing. This ambitious adaptation by Emily Burns refreshes the familiar tale by emphasizing universal themes of abandonment and the deep human longing to belong."

MD Theatre Guide- Highly Recommended

"...There is a monster inside all of us. The choices we make and the people we touch determine whether or not it comes to the surface. Monsters aren't born, they are a product of individual decisions. Emily Burns' world premiere reimagining of "Frankenstein" at Shakespeare Theatre Company (STC) aptly unearths this moral conflict. Her elevation of these choices, coupled with the possible dangers of science gone too far, makes this story more engaging now than ever."

BroadwayWorld- Highly Recommended

"...With such a powerful universal message and an impressive endurance, Frankenstein has been reinterpreted in various mediums over the years, but these retellings always hit the same key beats: Victor's research and rejection, the Creature's found family and his renewed quest for revenge when he understands exactly what Victor's callous dismissal has denied him, and a lifetime locked in a conflict that can only end in mutual destruction. There are countless interpretations that follow this sequence, but Shakespeare Theatre Company's latest production, written and directed by Emily Burns, opts for a new angle."

DC Theater Arts- Somewhat Recommended

"...Unfortunately, Emily Burns' tale is dominated by an adolescent very different from the teenage Mary Shelley, one not nearly so mature, not nearly so talented. This Victor Frankenstein is no modern Prometheus. But he might be Holden Caulfield."