Guest Blog: Director Lucy Morrell On THE CREATURE [FRANKENSTEIN RETOLD] at Rose Theatre Kingston

Working on The Creature [Frankenstein Retold] has been the biggest challenge but also the absolute highlight of my career. Ciaran McConville' s play has a complex narrative where the audience are told a story-within-a-story in snippets, along with the characters.

Our Dr Frankenstein character is a driven young scientist who is deeply affected by loss and a desire for a better world. The play is transported to a modern setting where new technologies are used, just like in Mary Shelley's original, to create a creature with monstrous and potentially catastrophic abilities.

Working with nine alumni of our youth theatre has been an inspiring and exciting privilege. Their raw talent and fearlessness has made the rehearsal process incredibly collaborative. The complexities of the story have meant that we are constantly striving for clarity, which has been challenging at times, but not once have they stopped interrogating the story and the character's relationships.

I originally staged The Creature as a youth theatre production in 2019, and I was asked to take a version of the play to The Oldenburg State Theatre last October. I restaged the production with a new cast of nine alumni, aged 18-21, along with my wonderful Associate Director Josh Mathieson.

It was liberating to get to look at the script again on a bigger scale and work with Josh to discover new possibilities. We worked hard on developing a physical language for the characters and introduced transitional movement sections. It was important, with the complex shifting narratives, that the story flowed.

Transferring the production to the Rose has been equally challenging and exciting. One of the biggest advantages of bringing the production to the Rose's beautiful stage is that we've been able to work with a brilliant designer and set-maker, Phillip Connolly.

The set takes the form of an installation rather than a moving set. This allows us to move between narratives. It becomes integrated seamlessly into the play with Dave Stammer's technology-inspired lighting adding to the sceptical.

At Rose Youth Theatre, we follow the ethos that our rehearsal process should be no different from any other. Our actors, for the most part, are used to a professional way of working. I believe there are very few differences in working with young people and working with professionals.

The biggest difference is the amount of time allowed for rehearsals. With youth or community theatre, you have to work much faster than we would with professional companies, which can at times be frustrating. What this does mean, however, is that our actors are incredible proactive about putting the work in themselves.

This previous work in The Youth Theatre has meant they have come into rehearsals for their professional debut with a good grasp of process. They have also developed as a strong ensemble. I am so pleased that the Rose has supported us in giving them this opportunity - particularly as they have grown up in our youth theatre. It is an honour to work with them and witness the incredibly dedicated and driven actors they have become. I cannot wait to follow the exciting careers I know they have ahead of them.

The Creature [Frankenstein Retold] at Rose Theatre Kingston 27-29 February

Photo credit: Andy Coxon

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