Not only is Oscar-winning director Danny Boyle directing a stage adaptation of Frankenstein, but it’s going to star Sherlock Holmes and Sick Boy.
He’s made heroin-addicts likable, zombies scary again, the death of the sun seem plausible, and a little kid talking to saints adorable. It’s probably safe to say that Danny Boyle could take any subject and give it a fresh, fun, spin. However, his latest directorial project isn’t a movie, it’s a theatrical adaptation of Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein, and it’s starring some pretty awesome British actors: Johnny Lee Miller and Benedict Cumberbatch. Oh, and it’s coming to a movie theater near you (maybe).
If you’re confused, don’t be: The play is going to be broadcast by National Theatre Live. The play premiered at the Royal National Theatre earlier this February and will end its run come this May. Part of the reason this play’s been garnering attention is because it’s two lead actors switch roles as Frankenstein and The Monster with each performance (as seen in the trailer here). The play will be broadcast twice, once on March 17th and once on March 24th, with the actors switching roles.
Miller is most famous (or is it notorious?) for his roles as the titular Eli Stone, Dade Murphy in Hackers, and Sick Boy in Trainspotting. Cumberbatch, meanwhile, has garnered quite a bit of justified acclaim for his role in the BBC series Sherlock.
If you happen to be near a major urban area, you might in luck if you want to see the play. If, however, you live somewhere remote like, say, Flagstaff (which is where I am), there’s going to have to be a road trip involved to get some cultural enrichment.
Source: National Theatre via io9
