Slumdog Millionaire director Danny Boyle’s unique take on the gothic horror Frankenstein for the National Theatre Live programme will be screened at Cinema Nouveau in the coming week.
The new adaptation of Mary Shelley’s 19th-century novel was done by Nick Dear, and is currently on a sold-out run at the Olivier Theatre at London’s National Theatre.
South Africans will be able to watch four screenings of the play in high definition via live satellite broadcast from London to Cinema Nouveau theatres nationwide on 9, 10 , 13 and 14 April 2011.
The production features Jonny Lee Miller, who starred as Sick Boy in Boyle’s Trainspotting, and Benedict Cumberbatch, seen recently in the BBC’s Sherlock Holmes series. The production is unique in that the two actors alternate the roles of scientist Victor Frankenstein and his Creature.
British newspapers have described their performances as “astonishing’ and “brilliant’.
It marks the highly anticipated return to theatre of English director Boyle, who has made films ranging from the dark comedy Shallow Grave and the edgy Trainspotting to the Academy Award-winning Slumdog Millionaire and this year’s true-life drama 127 Hours.
Boyle has also been appointed artistic director for the opening ceremony of the 2012 London Olympic Games.
Frankenstein will be screened at Cinema Nouveau theatres on April 9, 13 and 14 at 7:45pm, and on 10 April at 2:30pm, with tickets priced at R120 per person and R90 per person for Discovery Vitality and Edgars Club members.
The next National Theatre Live screening will be Anton Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard, directed by NT Associate Director Howard Davies. It will be screened on 23, 24, 27 and 28 July.
