Pitchy Breath celebrates 200 years of Frankenstein with bold modern reinvention ‘Monsters’
Performance dates
Tuesday 13 November 2018, 7.30pm, at The Hawth Studio Theatre, Crawley RH10 6YZ
Wednesday 14 November 2018, 7.30pm, at The Rialto Theatre, Brighton BN1 3FE
Friday 16 November 2018, 7.45pm, at Matthew’s Yard, Croydon CR0 1FF
Sunday 18 November 2018, 7.30pm, at The Capitol Studio Theatre, Horsham RH12 1RG
It’s been 200 years since Mary Shelley’s gothic horror Frankenstein was published to an unsuspecting public. Since then, the book has been adapted for stage and screen numerous times, most notably with the classic 1930s Boris Karloff movies, the image of a creature with bolts through his neck seared into the public conscience. In the classic novel’s anniversary year, Pitchy Breath Theatre Company are adding a 21st century twist to the tale in their new touring production ‘Monsters: A Modern Frankenstein Story’.
On the night of his wedding, ground-breaking surgeon Victor Frankenstein’s life is changed forever when his past comes back to haunt him. As he battles to justify the decisions made as a young man, he is thrust into the spotlight as his latest medical marvel wreaks a trail of catastrophe and destruction.
In a time where identity and acceptance clashes with egotism and corrupt power, Shelley’s classic novel provides ripe material for modernisation. Pitchy Breath will transport audiences to an alternative time in which Frankenstein discovered and performed the world’s first organ transplant before going on to discover the elusive spark of life.
Bradley Barlow, writer/director of ‘Monsters’ and Artistic Director of Pitchy Breath Theatre Company, said: “Frankenstein is one of those books that sticks in the memory long after you’ve turned the last page. It’s been a long-held ambition of mine to take Shelley’s original ideas and bring them into the modern era. The themes she wrote about 200 years ago are still relevant today and I’m so excited for audiences to get up close and personal to see what we’ve been working on. The cast are fantastic and ‘Monsters’ promises to be one of our most dynamic, energetic and exciting productions to date.”
A cast of actors from the local community have been rehearsing alongside professional theatre practitioners under the direction of writer Bradley Barlow to give this classic story a modern reimagining whilst faithfully retaining Mary Shelley’s original themes. Funded and supported by Crawley Borough Council, Pitchy Breath Theatre Company was formed in 1995 and Monsters will be their 52nd production, following last year’s hugely successful productions of ‘Julius Caesar’ and ‘The Last Time We Saw You’.
‘Monsters: A Modern Frankenstein Story’ tours to venues in Sussex and Surrey this November.
Tickets are on sale now from www.hawth.co.uk, www.rialtotheatre.co.uk, and www.thecapitolhorsham.com. Matthews Yard tickets are available from
About Pitchy Breath Theatre Company
Pitchy Breath is a theatre company formed in 1995 as part of Crawley Borough Council’s Community Theatre initiative and have grown to be a significant creative force in non-professional theatre in the region. Pitchy Breath create bold, limitless, new theatre – telling amazing stories unrestricted by convention, space or time. Pitchy Breath aims to nurture new writing talent and tell stories in innovative, provocative and fearless ways. Their theme is limitless possibility, putting experimentation at the centre of our process to gain fresh perspectives on old themes and inspire new thinking around stories yet untold.
For more information about Pitchy Breath, visit www.pitchybreath.co.uk