Gods and Monsters was a captivating acid trip through the fissured workings of a fractured mind. James Whale, the once famous director of 1930s horror movie classic Frankenstein, now paints his days away in largely forgotten obscurity. But the aftermath of a stroke brings hidden-away memories back unbidden to his brain, embers sparked further into fire by the reawakening of his lust, courtesy of his handsome and muscle-ridden young gardener Clayton Boone.
By Patrick Cash
The acting in this production is consistently good across the five-strong cast, with Ian Gelder by turns wickedly incorrigible and sympathetically poignant as Whale, Will Austin suitably brooding, likeable and peerlessly bubble-butted as Boone, and Lachele Carl infusing her fairly one-dimensional Mexican maid character with some spectrum of personality. Will Rastall and Joey Phillips showed great versatility, adapting both persona and accent for various vignettes that crack Athena-like from Whale’s memory and spill out across the stage.
Set design was mercurially fluid, a quick liquid delve from the codified reality of Whale’s Hollywood front room to the battlefields of the Somme, or a brain surgeon’s X-ray room, to the riveted inside of Whale’s head. The flow was achieved through ingenious use of projection, lighting and technical prowess, where the theatrical lines between subjectivity and objectivity sometimes shimmered and diluted across their consciousness.
My only criticism was that, in my opinion, the climactic scenes towards the end lacked a certain intensity required to achieve full pathos. As the actors roared and wrestled, a spark that had sizzled during their earlier tentatively exploring scenes appeared to have been doused. But the show I watched was shortly after opening night and it can only be expected that the emotional crux will heighten and deepen in richness with the run.
Ultimately, this production was suave, thoroughly engaging and slickly executed. Thoroughly recommended.
• The Southwark Playhouse, 77-85 Newington Causeway, Southwark, SE1 6BD
• Running until Saturday 7th March. £18 (£16 concs).
• www.southwarkplayhouse.co.uk / 020 7407 0234
