Jupiter Theatre production of Frankenstein, now on at West Village Theatre through Apr.2
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.
As bystanders screamed for help, a man with a knife stabbed four young children at a lakeside park in the French Alps on Thursday, assaulting at least one in a stroller repeatedly. The children between 22 months and 3 years old suffered life-threatening injuries, and two adults also were wounded, authorities said.
The hot, dry conditions that are fuelling wildfires countrywide are just the beginning of what summer could look like in Canada this year, according to Environment Canada senior climatologist Dave Phillips.
The battle against hundreds of wildfires continues, as almost every jurisdiction in Canada remains under either heat or air quality warnings from the federal government. The day after what was supposed to be national Clean Air Day, dozens of alerts remain in place for unseasonable heat or smoky air quality.
Norwegian officials said the smoke from Canadian wildfires that has enveloped parts of the U.S. and Canada in a thick haze is expected to pour into Norway on Thursday.
New Brunswick students under the age of 16 who identify as trans and non-binary won't be able to officially change their names or pronouns in school without parental consent.
Pat Robertson, a religious broadcaster who turned a tiny Virginia station into the global Christian Broadcasting Network, tried a run for president and helped make religion central to Republican Party politics in America through his Christian Coalition, has died.
An official recommendation to wear a mask to protect yourself from wildfire smoke is being echoed by health experts as plumes of smoke make their way across parts of Canada, causing poor air quality.
Drivers are being asked to find another way or prepare for delays on the Henday this weekend, because crews need to close a bridge over the North Saskatchewan River.
The Archdiocese of Edmonton will spend $3.2 million on reconciliation initiatives with First Nations, Métis and Inuit people in the Alberta capital region.
The nondescript parking lot at the centre of debate about the future of Vancouver's historic Chinatown is unchanged in the six years since plans to build a condo tower there were shot down by the city's development permit board.
British Columbia’s beer game continues to pack a punch on the national stage, as breweries from across the province took home nearly four dozen awards at the Canadian Brewing Awards.
An official recommendation to wear a mask to protect yourself from wildfire smoke is being echoed by health experts as plumes of smoke make their way across parts of Canada, causing poor air quality.
New Brunswick students under the age of 16 who identify as trans and non-binary won't be able to officially change their names or pronouns in school without parental consent.
The Halifax Regional Municipality says it will announce Thursday when more residents can return to their homes in communities impacted by the Tantallon wildfires.
Irving Oil says it’s undertaking a “strategic review” with an eye to its future. In a release Wednesday, the company says it’s looking at a number of options, including the sale of its assets.
There's no end in sight for the closure of Highway 4 on Vancouver Island – the only highway leading to the communities of Port Alberni, Tofino and Ucluelet – due to a wildfire burning in the area.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, the Victoria Sexual Assault Centre has seen an increase in women, trans and gender-diverse survivors seeking support after experiencing sexualized violence.
A busload of high school students were finally heading home to Nanaimo on Wednesday after they were stranded by a raging wildfire that forced them to spend the night inside a Port Alberni high school.
An Ontario man has been charged with first-degree murder in the death of Claudia Iacono, the daughter-in-law of Mafia associate Moreno Gallo, after she was gunned down at the wheel of her car in Montreal last month.
The hot, dry conditions that are fuelling wildfires countrywide are just the beginning of what summer could look like in Canada this year, according to Environment Canada senior climatologist Dave Phillips.
The man in the spotlight during the first two years of the COVID-19 pandemic in Quebec, Dr. Horacio Arruda, has been appointed assistant deputy minister at the Ministry of Health and Social Services.
Smoke and haze from wildfires cleared over Ottawa-Gatineau on Thursday, allowing outdoor recreational programming and activities to resume. Officials warm the smoke and haze could return on Friday afternoon.
The Ottawa Real Estate Board says home sales were up six per cent in May 2023 compared to a year prior, marking the first year-over-year unit sales volume increase since early last year.
Waterloo region and Wellington County remain under a special air quality statement for the fourth straight day Thursday with pollution levels expected to climb back into Environment Canada’s “high risk” zone this afternoon.
Kitchener is hosting a series of watch parties to cheer on basketball star Jamal Murray as his Denver Nuggets take on the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals.
An official recommendation to wear a mask to protect yourself from wildfire smoke is being echoed by health experts as plumes of smoke make their way across parts of Canada, causing poor air quality.
Romance scams have always been around, but they got worse during the pandemic, and fraudsters continue to use social media and dating sites to find victims.
The hot, dry conditions that are fuelling wildfires countrywide are just the beginning of what summer could look like in Canada this year, according to Environment Canada senior climatologist Dave Phillips.
Manitoban and Vegas Golden Knight defenceman Zach Whitecloud is getting plenty of support from his hometown community while he competes for the Stanley Cup.
Flooded underpasses have been a common occurrence in Regina this spring with several thunderstorms dumping heavy rain on the city, but Mayor Sandra Masters says several solutions are in the works to help prevent further flooding.
Regina city council has asked its administration to pursue permission from the Saskatchewan Municipal Board (SMB) to increase its debt limit to $780 million.
An official recommendation to wear a mask to protect yourself from wildfire smoke is being echoed by health experts as plumes of smoke make their way across parts of Canada, causing poor air quality.
Jupiter Theatre production of Frankenstein, now on at West Village Theatre through Apr.2
The Monster in Jupiter Theatre's production of Frankenstein is played by Mike Tan (Photo courtesy Jupiter Theatre)
Cast of Jupiter Theatre's Frankenstein.(Photo courtesy Jupiter Theatre)
