Offspring (A Modern Frankenstein)
Patrick Sutton Studio, Smock Alley Theatre, Dublin 8
★★★★☆
Emily Terndrup is antsy even before the show starts. Easily distracted, she jitters between rechecking her script, fixing a bit of unstuck tape on the ground and lurching into physical stretches. The piece we are about to see, she tells us, is still being put together and might be in shape by the end of the run, on Saturday. Yeah, right.
Chaos is unleashed over the next hour, but it is held in constant control by Terndrup’s performance, which mixes an easy-going presence with expressive physicality and on-the-beat comic timing.
Nevertheless, the undertow of artistic anxiety is important for sowing further uncertainty onstage. Terndrup begins retelling Frankenstein, Mary Shelley’s novel from 1818, and uses props, such as a stainless-steel table and rack of clothes, to illustrate how a young Victor Frankenstein became obsessed with science and creating life.
Terndrup points to her own teenage obsession with dance, ignited after viewing the film Flashdance. This parallel revealed, the performer and her role begin to blur into one, and the work gradually slides into a subtle and personal exploration of creation and parenthood.
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At times we perceive Frankenstein’s monster as a headstrong toddler rather than a Gothic brute, all the time within the framework of Shelley’s story. Episodes such as the death of Victor’s mother and the monster’s presence at Victor’s own death foregrounds the personal bonds between the creator of life and the life created.
Spoken words might push the action along, but brief dance episodes offer deeper reflections. In these moments we witness emotional honesty, particularly in the end. Terndrup unties her hair and weaves her body through angst-ridden movements: arms attempting to grasp invisible objects, torso roughly bending, legs taking deep, lunging steps. No longer playing a role, she finally expresses her personal uncertainty.
Runs at Smock Alley Theatre, as part of Dublin Fringe Festival, until Saturday, September 13th
