SELMA Dimitrijvic’s gender swapped stage reimagining of Mary Shelly’s seminal gothic novel fails to adequately capture the dramatic possibilities of turning Victor into Victoria.

Despite being set in 1831, Victoria doesn’t appear to be constrained by society at all. The fact she is barred from studying Medicine in England is fleetingly mentioned by Victoria’s sister, while their disapproving father’s only concerns about her scientific aspirations appear to be monetary.

Confusing dream sequences attempt to reveal Victoria’s unravelling mental state, but do little more than baffle and disorientate the audience.

We are also supposed to believe that Victoria’s obsession with stopping death stems from her grief at losing her mother at a young age, but when her younger brother William is thought to be killed by the monster, she doesn’t seem to care at all. The most we saw of William was a discarded coat, so when the audience are told of this great tragedy, it’s hard to empathise.

Likewise, when the plucky housekeeper Justine is hanged for killing William because she refuses to change her story that a monster was the culprit, there was no emotional pay off.

Despite the patchy adaptation, and Lorne Campbells often stilted direction, the cast do the best with what they have been given. Polly Frame puts in a spirited performance as the obsessive, determined and often egomaniacal Victoria Frankenstein, while Ed Gaughan’s limping, lisping, softly spoken and ultimately sympathetic take on the creature steals every scene he is in.

The production design is superb, with Tom Piper’s elegantly designed medicine cabinet sets revealing towers of glittering vials, while Lizzie Powell’s lighting creates ominous silhouettes of Victoria at work and later the creature lurking in the shadows,. Nick John Williams’ use of off kilter strings and humming industrial noises tie together the production’s more other worldly moments with aplomb.

GARETH NEWNHAM

Dr. Frankenstein is at NST Campus until Saturday. Tickets: 023 8067 177 or nstheatres.co.uk