Frankenstein
By
Nick Dear
Based on the novel by Mary Shelley
Characters:
The Creature
Victor Frankenstein
a scientist
Gretel
a prostitute
Gustav
a beggar
Klaus
a beggar
De Lacey
a blind man
Felix
his son
Agatha
his daughter-in-law
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Frankenstein
By
Nick Dear
Based on the novel by Mary Shelley
Characters: The Creature Victor Frankenstein a scientist Gretel a prostitute Gustav a beggar Klaus a beggar De Lacey a blind man Felix his son Agatha his daughter-in-law
The Female Creature Elizabeth Lavenza Victor’s fiancée Clarice Her maid William Frankenstein Victor’s brother Monsieur Frankenstein Victor’s father Ewan an Orkney islander Rab His nephew A Constable Townspeople Of Ingolstadt Servants of the Frankenstein household SCENE ONE Europe, around 1818
image of a man, as if by an amateur god. All the parts and there, but the neurological pathways are unorthodox, the muscular movements odd, the body and the brain uncoordinated. He licks at the blood on his skin. SCENE THREE The Creature plays with a kettle, sitting on the floor. He chews it and bangs it. The Creature spins like a top, on his tailbone, pushing himself round and round and round. And round and round some more. He stands, and is dizzy. He falls over. He laughs. A man is approaching slowly and cautiously: Victor Frankenstein, late twenties. He wears a long cloak. He watches the Creature intently. Victor goes close to the Creature, who doesn’t see him at first. Victor is curious, but then repulsed by the filthy, slimy being sprawled in front of him. The Creature turns and sees Victor. He reaches out to him, babbling incoherently. He gives a ghastly smile. Victor is appalled. He backs off. The Creature pursues Victor, moving swiftly across the floor. VICTOR : No…keep away…no… The Creature gets to his feet-and now Victor is worried. CREATURE : Hawuurgh! VICTOR : Do as I say! The Creature lunges at Victor, as if to embrace him, or maybe to strangle him-who knows? Victor panics. He has nothing with which to defend himself. He pulls the cloak from his shoulders and throws it over the Creature, and runs from the building. Blinded, the Creatures roars, spinning round and round, confused. He pulls the cloak
from his head. But Victor is gone. SCENE FOUR Night. The Creature makes his way through the streets of Ingolstadt---an early- industrial landscapes, smoggy and strange. He’s wrapped in the cloak, the cowl covering his head. Underneath he is naked. There are strange noises---sounds of forges, factories, coaches, animals. Electricity is in the air; we see prototypes of new machines. The Creature is lost and confused. There are passers-by, but they ignore him. He passes a tavern. A group of townsmen are singing, drinking mugs of beer. This scares the Creature and he runs away. Then there is a sound which arrests him: a woman is screaming. GRETEL : Help! Help! The Creature stops and listens. The passers-by slip away. He is alone on the street. CREATURE : Hnungh? Now we see Gretel, a prostitute, being beaten up by her client in a dark alley. GRETEL : Please, help me! Someone! The Creature doesn’t know how to respond. He turns this way and that. Gretel is being thrown about by her hair. The Creature walks slowly towards them and watches with curiosity. Gretel sees him. Oh, thank you, mister, thank you! The client looks round and sees the Creature behind him. The Creature raises both
them uncertainly. MAN : There it is! They throw stones at him, and he turns and runs. SCENE SIX Dawn. Countryside. The Creature is asleep on the ground, wrapped in the cloak. He wakes, stiffly. He moans and sits up. He stands and looks around. The cloak falls and he is naked. Sunlight plays through the leaves. The birds sing. He clutches at beams of light. He laughs. CREATURE : Huh, huh! He’s Adam in the Garden of Eden---an innocent. He listens to the birdsong. He tries to flap his wings. He imitates birdsong. Rain falls. The gentle touch of moisture pleases him. He washes himself in the rain. He dries himself with his cloak. SCENE SEVEN The Creature wanders through the woods. He has a collection of things to eat, which he tries one by one. Sticks are not very nice. Weeds are chewy. Best of all are berries. Juice runs down his chin. SCENE EIGHT
The Creature sits under a tree. He fidgets. He’s bored. In the pocket of his cloak he finds a battered notebook: Frankenstein’s journal. He looks at the writing from several different viewpoints but it remains meaningless. He stuffs it back into his pocket. He stands and addresses us: a speech of confusion and sometimes distress, but without actual words. A soliloquy of grunts and wails. CREATURE : Wurrgh-ah-ah! Wurgh, wurgh. Chick chick. Awah? Yaya yaya! Yuh! Seeming to have made his point, he leaves. SCENE NINE Night. A beggar, Gustav, comes through the woods. Gustav (calls): Klaus? Where are you? Klaus, another beggar, is tending a fire. KLAUS : Over here! Come and get warm. GUSTAV : I will. ---What’s in the pot? KLAUS : Nice bit of rabbit. Where’d you get to? GUSTAV : Ingolstadt. KLAUS : Any luck? GUSTAV : No. They’re jittery as hell. The women and children are locked indoors. The men go armed with cudgels. What’s going on? Klaus (shrugs): Scared of their own shadows, they are, in Ingolstadt. They laugh and sit by the fire. Klaus stirs the stew in the billy-can. GUSTAV : Tomorrow we’ll move on. Try and beg some bread.
the fire. It’s nice. But when he puts his hand in it, it’s not nice. He sees that the beggars have left their knapsacks behind. He pulls out the content--- tattered clothes, a ball of string, a pipe, a Bible. None of these mean much to him. He lies down by the fire and goes to sleep. SCENE TEN Morning. The Creature wakes to the sound of the two beggars yelling. They run at him, brandishing sticks. KLAUS : There he is! Get him! They attack the Creature and beat him savagely. CREATURE : Waaagh! GUSTAV : I’ll teach you to scare us! KLAUS : Eat our supper! GUSTAV : Now piss off, you ugly bastard! KLAUS : And don’t come back! They drive the Creature away. The beggars collect up their belongings and exit hurriedly. SCENE ELEVEN Deep in the woods, the Creature howls with pain. He is angry and confused. He spins round and round, shrieking in anguish. SCENE TWELVE
De Lacey’s cottage. Felix, his son, guides blind De Lacey to his chair, as his daughter- in-law Agatha places food on the table. AGATHA : I’m leaving your food on the table. And there’s some milk. DE LACEY : Thank you, my dear. You treat me well. FELIX : We’re going to work, Father. We’ll be back at nightfall. Agatha (to De Lacey): And you, behave yourself while we’re gone. De Lacey (chuckles): I’ll try. --- Have you managed to clear the top field? FELIX : No. It’s slow progress. AGATHA : Harder than we thought. (Cheerily.) But we’ll win in the end! DE LACEY : We have to grow something or we’ll starve. AGATHA : We’ll get faster when we know what we’re doing. In a year or two, we’ll be fine. We’ll be farmers! De Lacey (laughs): I never thought I’d be a farmer…! Felix (to Agatha): Are you ready? AGATHA : For the cold and the mud? Can’t wait! She laughs, and kisses De Lacey affectionately. Bye, old man! FELIX : Goodbye, Father. DE LACEY : Goodbye, Felix. You married a lovely girl. FELIX : I know. AGATHA : Bye! Agatha and Felix exit the hut. De Lacey reaches behind him and takes up a guitar. He puts it across his knee and begins to play. Felix and Agatha come outside. The Creature looks on from a distance. He now wears ragged clothes under his cloak. He watches intently. FELIX : How do you manage to stay so cheerful?
The Creature, having finished the food, picks up the guitar. He tries clumsily to strum it, but just makes a horrible noise. He claws hopelessly at the strings, then cries out in frustration. CREATURE : Waaarh! Pissoff buggeroff! DE LACEY : I beg your pardon? CREATURE : Pissoff buggeroff! The Creature plonks the guitar down in De Lacey’s lap. DE LACEY : Oh, you want music? You want some more music? CREATURE : Mm…moo… DE LACEY : Music. It’s a gift from God. Go on. Say it. Music. CREATURE : Moo…sic… DE LACEY : You see, you pluck the strings, like this… De Lacey plays the guitar. The Creature listens, transported. SCENE THIRTEEN Agatha and Felix survey the top field. Felix carries a hoe over his shoulder. AGATHA : Look at the stones! The field is full of them! FELIX : I’m sorry, Agatha. It has to be cleared. I can’t plough until it’s done. AGATHA : Oh well—the sooner I start! She smiles and kisses Felix. Felix exits. Agatha begins to work. She sings. She has the feeling that she’s being watched. But when she looks around, she can’t see anyone. Agatha remains working in the field as we cut back to:
SCENE FOURTEEN
The cottage. The Creature and De Lacey sit together at the table. They have paper and charcoal pencils before them. De Lacey scrawls a letter and the Creature imitates him. DE LACEY : Puh. CREATURE : Puh. DE LACEY : Ah. CREATURE : Ah. DE LACEY : Ruh. CREATURE : Ruh. DE LACEY : Ah. CREATURE : Ah. DE LACEY : Duh. CREATURE : Duh. DE LACEY : Aye. CREATURE : Aye. DE LACEY : Sss. CREATURE : Sss. DE LACEY : Eh. CREATURE : Eh. De Lacey puts down his charcoal. DE LACEY : Para— CREATURE : Para— DE LACEY : -- dise. Paradise. Write it out. The Creature writes.
FELIX : But that’s— AGATHA : It’s incredible! It’s a miracle! FELIX : Or magic. AGATHA : Every stone is gone! Every one! FELIX : We can till the soil! AGATHA : We can sow. FELIX : Help me hitch up the plough! They exit. We cut back to: SCENE SIXTEEN The cottage. Weeks later. De Lacey and the Creature. The Creature is distracted by the snow swirling outside the window. CREATURE : White! What? White! What? DE LACEY : Where? CREATURE : In the air! DE LACEY : That’s snow. It’s not very interesting—a natural phenomenon, no more. Now please stop leaping about, we need to concentrate. CREATURE : Snow! Snow! DE LACEY : Sit! We’ve work to do. The Creature sits at a pile of books, rather grumpily. Thank you. Today: original sin. Creature (writing with a scowl): Original sin. DE LACEY : There are two school of thought. One says that we are all made imperfect, and require the assistance of a higher authority—a deity—to overcome the sin of being born. The other school of thought—to which I subscribe—insists that when
we leave the womb we are pure, that a babe in arms is untainted by sin, that evil is the product of social forces, and that God has nothing to do with how a man turns out, be it good or be it bad. CREATURE : Me not do bad things. DE LACEY : I know you do not do bad things. You have a good heart. I know that. CREATURE : Why my hungry? DE LACEY : Eh? CREATURE : Why my hungry? Why no food for me? DE LACEY : I give you half of my food. CREATURE : Still hungry. DE LACEY : It is the condition of men to be hungry. Creature (jabbing a finger at his books): Not kings! Not emperors! De Lacey (laughs): You’re learning fast. CREATURE : Why my not a king? DE LACEY : I don’t know. Perhaps you are. CREATURE : Yes! A king! Is my name? DE LACEY : I don’t know. CREATURE : King what? DE LACEY : You have never told me your name. CREATURE : Gnaaagh! Never heard. Not know. DE LACEY : You are a poor lost thing. CREATURE : Lost thing. DE LACEY : But I have taught you how to speak! How to read! There is hope. Who knows what you may accomplish? Creature (shakes his head): Hate me. DE LACEY : Who does? CREATURE : Men. Women. Childs. Dogs. DE LACEY : No, they don’t. CREATURE : Throw stones. Beat me. Everywhere! Everywhere! DE LACEY : Peasants are ignorant people. They do not read like you and I. It’s an instinct to protect the home, the family. Perhaps they are—frightened of you? CREATURE : My look bad?
AGATHA : These were left by the stove—the hares already gutted! Not a mark on the birds. FELIX : Then how were they caught? AGATHA : It’s a mystery! Who is doing this, Felix? FELIX : Somebody wants to help us. AGATHA : But who? Who would do that? We are strangers here. Felix (whispers): Faerie folk. AGATHA : Faerie folk? FELIX : Little people! Elves and sprites! (Calls.) Hello! Are you here? Agatha (calls): Is anyone watching? Now we see that the Creature is indeed watching from a hiding place. FELIX : Come out if you are! We’d like to thank you! Come out! The Creature is very tempted and almost steps out of cover. But something holds him back. They won’t come out. Agatha (laughs): There’s no one there, you fool. It’s just us. You see? We stick together through thick and thin, and never stop loving each other—and magical things happen! They kiss and exit. The Creature smiles happily to himself. SCENE EIGHTEEN Months later. The Creature gives his arm to De Lacey, and they walks in the woods. It’s evening—the light is fading. A single bird calls, as a huge moon rises. DE LACEY : The evenings grow warmer. Soon it will be spring. There’s a cheery
thought! CREATURE : Why? DE LACEY : Well—spring, you know! Ha ha! CREATURE : Spring makes you happy? Why? DE LACEY : Well, we’re still alive! CREATURE : Why, how long are we meant to be alive for? DE LACEY : Let’s turn for home now. It’s getting dark. CREATURE : How can you tell? You have no eyes. DE LACEY : Hear that bird? It’s a nightingale. That means it’s getting dark. CREATURE : The bird makes the dark? That’s impossible. DE LACEY : No, my friend, no. Don’t you remember your Milton? ‘The wakeful nightingale…’ CREATURE : The wakeful nightingale! He recites. ‘She all night long her amorous descant sung; Silence was pleased: now glowed the firmament With living sapphires: Hesperus, that led The starry host, rode brightest, till the moon, Rising in clouded majesty, at length Apparent queen unveiled her peerless light, And o’er the dark her silver mantle threw.’ De Lacey (approving): It is night in the Garden of Eden. Do you see the moon? CREATURE : There. There it is. DE LACEY : Describe it to me. CREATURE : Solitary. DE LACEY : That’s a good word. Good. CREATURE : And sad, like me. DE LACEY : Why is it sad? CREATURE : Because it is solitary. DE LACEY : Why are you sad? CREATURE : Because with all that I read, all that I learn, I discover how much I do