DR FRANKENSTEIN'S TRAVELLING FREAKSHOW
"IT STANDS ON ITS OWN MERITS AS A PRODUCTION THAT IS INNOVATIVE, CHALLENGING AND FRESH. TIN SHED THEATRE CO. ARE THE RISING STARS OF WELSH THEATRE AND WITH PRODUCTIONS LIKE DR FRANKENSTEINS TRAVELLING FREAKSHOW THEY ARE QUICKLY BECOMING ESSENTIAL"
WALES ARTS REVIEW
Mary Shelly will roll in her grave...
Tin Shed Theatre Company stunningly retell Mary Shelley’s
Classic Horror story Frankenstein as a play within a play, immersed in the twisted and debauched world of a Victorian Travelling Freak Show!
Through the depraved and twisted eyes of one cynical raconteur and his faithful gaggle of gormless goons, Shelley’s story is retold by; Ring Leader, Bearded Lady, Half Lobster-Half Man, a plethora of peculiar puppets, an Amazonian Ape Lady and Dr Frankenstein’s Creature himself.
Darkly comical and sickly twisted, Dr Frankenstein’s Travelling Freak Show treads the thin line between hilarity and morality. Exploring and examining the themes and emotional provocation of the novel in a direct juxtaposition with the perceptions of The Victorian Freak Show, Dr Frankenstein’s Travelling Freak Show examines the human need for companionship whilst asking the question; is the Freak Show really dead?
BLURB
ABOUT
MUSIC
INC.A​​
The music for Dr Frankenstein's Travelling Freak Show was composed and performed live and eventually in a recording studio in Newport for the piece by Cardiff based band INC.A you can visit their site here...
We wanted to make something exciting and loud. Something that encompassed the imagery and sensibilities of a drunken circus that had become contaminated by this dark material.
Something that feels like a punch in the face followed by a beautiful whisper.
When we were constructing the piece from clippings of Mary Shelley's novel and our own notes and ideas on 'The Freak Show' this compelling parallel began to appear.
That's when we knew what we were dealing with; a frantic piece of Meta-Theatre that's on the one hand funny, on the other painfully tragic. We merged things that we were individually moved, inspired or insighted by to form something that captures inspired by 1930's German Expressionism in cinema, blended with a modern sense of humour and a clean and simple design.
REVIEWS, AWARDS & NOMINATIONS
WINNER
Producers Pick
SAN DIEGO FRINGE FESTIVAL 2014
NOMINATED
Best Ensemble
THEATRE CRITICS OF WALES AWARDS 2014
Best Literature
BRIGHTON FRINGE FESTIVAL 2012
★★★★★
"Fantastic. Incredible. Hilarious, yet moving. Powerful. Energetic. Superb...
It was – I mean it sincerely – one of the most impressive theatre performances I have ever seen."
BROADWAY BABY
★★★★
"This play and the demands it made of its actors was an overwhelming triumph and called for theatre in its purest form."
LOVE SHREWSBURY
★★★★
"A wild-eyed performance brimming with energy and oozing lunacy... The team fear Mary Shelley will roll in her grave. I think she’ll have a good celestial giggle."
THE PUBLIC REVIEWS
★★★★★
"You can smell the greasepaint and wretchedness in this dark tale... Darkly and nastily fabulous from start to finish.
THE LATEST
★★★★
"The energy never dips, and where stillness of storytelling comes into play, the company delivers the narrative with precision and commitment."
A YOUNGER THEATRE
"It stands on its own merits as a production that is innovative, challenging and fresh. Tin Shed Theatre Company are the rising stars of Welsh theatre and with productions like Dr Frankenstein’s Travelling Freakshow they are quickly becoming essential."
WALES ARTS REVIEW