Our Local Frankenstein
Now that autumn weather has arrived, book lovers find that 19th century literature has extra appeal, and nothing fits cold dreary days better than Gothic stories. One story that features tragic relatability is Frankenstein, written by Mary Shelley (daughter of Mary Wollstonecraft, the early feminist author of A Vindication of the Rights of Women). While traveling Europe with her then-lover and later husband Percy Bysshe Shelley, they sat before the fire telling ghost stories with friends, including Lord Byron. At the end of the night, Byron suggested that they all write a ghost story, and it was this suggestion that prompted Mary Shelley to write the classic Gothic tale (also frequently credited as the first work of science fiction) Frankenstein; or a Modern Prometheus.
The podcast series Rabbit Room Press Presents partnered with Oasis Audio just released A. S. Peterson’s audio drama adaptation of Frankenstein. The Rabbit Room is a local Nashville community of creators and writers, with a podcast network, a publishing arm, a theatre program (MCR reviewed their adaptation of A. S. Peterson’s A Christmas Carol), an arts conference, and a community center called North Wind Manor in Antioch.
For those of us who enjoy listening to audiobooks and podcasts, the audio drama is a special form of enjoyment, the unique blending of literature and live theater into an approachable medium. This version of Frankenstein is just that; Peterson has taken his 2017 play adaptation of the novel, originally performed in Franklin by Studio Tenn, and turned the original cast recording into a two-part audio drama. This audio drama has the addition of Kim Bretton reading the stage directions, although the flow of the drama is so smooth sometimes this narration isn’t even necessary.
In the brief introduction, playwright A. S. Peterson says, “I had loved the original novel for years, but I’d always felt there was more theological depth to the tale than most people gave it credit for, and I was anxious to explore those ideas. I think Victor Frankenstein and his creation have a lot to tell us about the nature of our relationship with our creator, and also about the nature of our relationship to the things that we create or subcreate, as Tolkien would say.” His adaptation certainly examines this, which is especially apt as one of the few books the monster reads is Paradise Lost. While promising as a second Adam, he eventually, scorned by Victor Frankenstein and all other humans, becomes like Satan in the epic poem and embraces vengeful spite against his creator as his remaining purpose. Peterson adapts elements of the novel to make the monster’s response to suffering and the choice of violence over love more explicit, as well as to examine the ethics of creation. Even from the limited worldview of naturalistic secularism, this short novel is all-too applicable to our times. The blindly hubristic scientist who creates something he can’t control and which struggles to fit into the natural world, has almost too many possible parallels in the modern world: nuclear bombs, cloning, and the current slavish aggression of corporations shoving AI down our throats. As those who don’t know history are doomed to repeat it, those who don’t examine their own humanity through literature often end up cast in a role they wouldn’t have chosen.
The book is mostly written from Victor Frankenstein’s perspective, but the frame story is given scientific flavor and adventurous drama by the letters of a man named Robert Walton. Captain of a ship on an expedition to the North Pole, Walton writes to his sister with wild enthusiasm for his search after knowledge. When an injured man on a dogsled meets up with Walton’s ice-bound ship, he tells his story to the captain in an attempt to prevent him from similar reckless hubris. The monster makes a brief appearance at the end. In Peterson’s adaptation, he cleverly takes the frame story and shifts it; Frankenstein and his monster both arrive at the ship and give their own narrations of their connected story, allowing the captain (and us, the audience) to judge their tale. This adaptation allows the non-linear frame to maintain the chilling ambiance of polar seas while adding dramatic conflict in a fitting way.
The entire cast does an excellent job in their roles, and each of their voices are entirely distinct from each other so you’re never at a loss as to who’s talking. The sound design is fantastic; even with the non-linear plot and many different settings, it is always easy to tell when and where we are in the story. There are enough sound effects to make it feel like a proper audio drama without cluttering the audio. Kim Bretton’s delivery of the narration has a fun feel, almost like a Victorian newscaster.
I hadn’t read the novel in several years when I listened to this adaptation, and it reminded me of why this story has remained culturally relevant. Whether the novel is familiar or new to you, A. S. Peterson’s new audio drama is worth the listen.
The complete adaptation is in two parts and is less than two hours long. It is available for free on Omny FM, Apple Podcasts, and other podcast apps.
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A Nashville native and MTSU graduate, Grace Krenz is a reader, a writer, and an arts enthusiast. She lives in Nashville with her husband and two children.
Holy Smokes that makeup is awesome!