The Red Curtain Drama Club’s production of Frankenstein’s Mary Shelley delivered a bold, moving, and beautifully-executed interpretation of a story that is at once iconic and deeply personal. Part Gothic classic, part literary biography, the show wove together Mary Shelley’s inner world and her groundbreaking creation with remarkable sophistication—an especially impressive feat for a student ensemble.
From the opening moments, the story sprang vividly to life as Mary appeared on stage narrating her prose, “bringing life to lifeless matter.” That line became a visual reality as lights flickered ominously and the Creature emerged—an electrifying moment that set the tone for the drama ahead. The production also offered some welcome levity, with clever nods to Hamilton and The Sound of Music that earned knowing chuckles from the audience.
What distinguished this performance was how seamlessly Shelley’s life was interlaced with the fictional story she penned. Themes of birth, death, mourning, and creative aspiration echoed across timelines. The Creature lurked silently during some of Mary’s most devastating moments, including the loss of her child, becoming a haunting embodiment of the grief and imagination she carried. Lines such as Mary’s lament—“maybe if he dies in my story, he can live in life”—captured the painful threshold between her reality and the world she created.
The sound design played an essential, powerful role. Soft piano, rainfall, ruffling paper, buzzing electricity, and urgent strings shaped the emotional landscape of both Mary and Frankenstein’s unraveling psyche. Frankenstein’s descent into madness was underscored by the Creature’s voice echoing through the theater—a chilling auditory presence that made the tension almost palpable.
One of the production’s most tender sequences showed the Creature watching a family from afar, finding solace in their kindness—especially from a blind man and his daughter (pictured above). His attempt to befriend them, only to be rejected for his grotesque appearance, was heartbreaking. “From them I learned sadness and poverty, but also kindness and generosity,” he reflected, crystallizing one of the show’s central moral questions: Who is the true monster—the created or the fearful creator?
Parallel stories of loneliness deepened the narrative, including the connection between Percy Shelley’s wife Harriet and the Creature, both crushed by isolation. Later, the Creature’s plea— “If just one person would show kindness to me, I could show kindness to the world”—stood in stark contrast to Frankenstein’s anguished response, “As your maker, do I owe you happiness?”
Balancing this darkness was the character of Henry, whose charm and warmth provided much-needed levity beside Frankenstein’s tortured intensity.
Near the end, Mary’s confession— “my life has been reduced to these pages”—landed with particular force, capturing her struggle to transform personal tragedy into timeless art. The closing line, “…learn my miseries and do not seek to increase your own,” echoed long after the lights went down.
Several standout performances anchored the production, including the sister, Mary Shelley, Frankenstein, and the Creature—each actor bringing emotional nuance and depth to their roles. Their portrayals honored not only the fictional characters but also the real historical figures woven into the narrative.
Frankenstein’s Mary Shelley is a difficult, dark, and layered piece, yet the Red Curtain Drama Club rose to the challenge with courage, creativity, and immense talent. The result was a truly impressive student production that paid homage to Shelley’s genius while exploring humanity—fragile, searching, and resilient—at the core of her story.