Frankenstein is back, this time with puppets

Calgary's Andrew G. Cooper is taking the storytelling leap from Fraggle Rock to Frankenstein.
The Calgary playwright, director and puppeteer, who is the artistic director of Jupiter Theatre, is the driving force behind a new adaptation of the Mary Shelley classic.
This Frankenstein features a blend of people, puppets, shadow, mask, movement and provocative design to bring the creature– played by Mike Tan – to theatrical life.
For Cooper, the project has been a long time gestating in his imagination.
"I've loved the story of Frankenstein ever since I read it during my undergrad," he said in an email interview with CTV News. "I think I've always been drawn to monsters and outcasts, even from a young age. I certainly have felt like an outcast in the past, and I think most people feel that way from time to time.
"The story is also just wonderful," he adds. "It's epic, thrilling, romantic, and even after 200 years, it's still revealing things about humanity in new ways."
ADAPTATION STAYS TRUE TO ORIGINAL
Cooper adapted Shelley's novel for the stage in a way that he says remains faithful to the original.
"If people are familiar with the book, they'll love this play," he said. "I really focused on two elements when writing the script. The first is giving more weight to the story of the creature.
"The play begins with his creation when he comes to life, and we follow him until the end of his journey. The second was the supernatural elements, like the ghosts and the idea of destiny, that are found throughout Mary Shelley's story. There's something so compelling about these elements and I've never seen them addressed in another adaptation before."
The Monster in Jupiter Theatre's production of Frankenstein is played by Mike Tan (Photo courtesy Jupiter Theatre)
USING PUPPETS
Before COVID-19 struck in 2020, Alberta Ballet's Jean Grand-Maitre gave audiences a Frankenstein unlike any other – a Frankenstein that danced.
How do puppets impact Jupiter's Frankenstein?
"I love using puppets in storytelling!" he says. "Puppets allow us to take audiences places we wouldn't otherwise be able to go on stage.
"One of our characters is entirely played by a puppet, and we do some fun things with him that would be dangerous for a human actor to do," he adds. "The puppets also give us a gateway into the supernatural world in fun and interesting ways. I think puppetry helps ignite people's imaginations and engages them in a unique way.
"We play with traditional rod puppetry, shadow puppetry, and mask work throughout the show and each of them adds a new layer to the story."
That theatricality he says blends nicely with Tan's performance of the creature.
Mike Tan takes a wonderful journey of the creature and moves through the role with empathy, curiosity and strength.
"As an actor," he says, "he guides us from the creature's 'birth', essentially being a blank slate, to becoming filled with a thirst for revenge. It's a captivating ride.
"Like with many of the other elements of the show, we're focusing more on the original text, so our creature isn't like the ones from the Universal Pictures or Hammer Horror movies."
Cast of Jupiter Theatre's Frankenstein.(Photo courtesy Jupiter Theatre)
A LOVE STORY
What Cooper has left in is the essence of the original.
"Our version of Frankenstein is, at its heart, a love story. It's a love story between Victor (the creator) and Elizabeth, but it's also a love story between Victor and his creation in a way. The play is a thriller too, with elements of horror, and I'm hoping people will leave the theatre with a sense of wonder. I really want to show audiences something they haven't seen before on stage."
Jupiter Theatre's Frankenstein is part of the Festival of Animated Objects. It's on at the West Village Theatre on 10th Avenue through Apr. 2.
Matinee performances are pay-what-you-can.
For ticket information, go here.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories

Alleged Montreal-area 'Chinese police stations' planning to sue RCMP for $2.5 million
Two Chinese community centres in the Montreal area are planning to launch a $2.5 million defamation lawsuit against the RCMP and the Attorney General of Canada after being accused by the police force of hosting 'alleged Chinese police stations.'
Lawyer in Ali murder trial says 13-year-old B.C. victim was not an 'innocent'
Ibrahim Ali's lawyer says the 13-year-old girl he's accused of murdering in a British Columbia park wasn't the “innocent” depicted in a “rose-coloured” portrayal by the Crown at trial.
'I cry all the time': Nova Scotia couple returns after 40 days in Gaza
It has been five days since Palestinian-Canadian couple, Khalil and Nabila Manna, returned from visiting relatives in Gaza, but while the couple planned to visit for a short-period of time, the Israel-Hamas conflict left them stranded for 40 days
With Canada set to reimpose cap on working hours, international students worry about paying for tuition, living expenses
Canada is set to reimpose the cap on the number of hours that international students can work off campus. But with heightened cost-of-living concerns in Canada, many international students say they're not sure how they'll be able to afford their tuition and living expenses if they can't work full-time.
Inmate stabbed Derek Chauvin 22 times, charged with attempted murder, prosecutors say
A federal inmate was charged Friday with attempted murder in the prison stabbing of Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer convicted of murdering George Floyd.
'Jumped over their heads': Kangaroo escapes Ontario zoo during overnight stay
The search for a kangaroo that escaped an Ontario zoo will resume on Saturday morning, according to staff and volunteers.
Mild, rainy winter expected as Canada warms at twice the global rate
Winter will be unusually warm and rainy across much of the country this year, according to the latest data from Environment and Climate Change Canada.
Here's how Air Canada's new baggage tracking app works
Air Canada is hoping to give its customers more confidence when travelling with checked luggage through a new baggage tracking feature.
Alleged victims speak out after a Waterloo, Ont. man posed as a CSIS agent and scammed women out of millions
Several women have come forward claiming they were victims of a romance scam by a Waterloo, Ont. man. Police believe he allegedly defrauded dozens of women out of more than $2 million over 15 years.