FRANKENSTEIN
By Mary Shelley
Adaptation by Jack Neary
It is springtime, in the first quarter
of the nineteenth century.
The stage is divided into three playing
areas. Center is the drawing room,
garden and peripheral undefined spaces
in the Frankenstein Manor in Geneva,
Switzerland. From the garden, we can
see the large front entrance to the
Manor, plus the expansive lawn which
leads to the main road.
Another permanent area is a crude
laboratory somewhere in Ingoldstadt,
Germany.
The third on stage playing area is the
small yard and garden area adjacent to
the Delacey hovel, on the road between
Geneva and Ingoldstadt. In Act Two,
this space becomes an interrogation
area in the Ingoldstadt court house.
There is another area utilized often-
an opening in the forest between
Ingoldstadt and Geneva. This area may
be located outside of the general stage
space, perhaps closer to the audience.
Another incidental space is utilized--a
table at a tavern in Ingoldstadt. This
will require a minimum use of the stage
area, and can be in a tight, spot-lit
space.
PRELUDE
AT RISE, an orchestral chord begins to
play in the background. The lights dim
and the chord ends with an ominous
blast.
Immediately after the final chord, we
hear a hideous SCREAM from the rear of
the house. Then, GILDA, a fiery,
striking peasant girl in her twenties,
runs through the house towards the
stage. She continues to scream, but
she is also laughing. She stops
halfway to the stage, turns, and looks
back to the rear of the house, where we
see CLAUS, a young, sturdy, peasant boy
about Gilda's age. He is holding a
large sack, waving it at Gilda. As the
scene continues, Claus moves closer to
Gilda, threatening her playfully with
the contents of the sack.
GILDA
No, Claus! No! I told you! I don't want to see it!
CLAUS
(moving towards her)
Why not? You've seen one of these things every day of your
life.
GILDA
But I've seen 'em attached. That's a big difference!
(Claus playfully moves towards
her with the sack)
No! I said no! Get that thing away from me! The doctor
don't need it anymore anyway. He's gone home to get married.
She'll never let him out of that manor again.
CLAUS
Oh, the doctor will be back. You can take my word on that.
I've seen the look in his eyes, Gilda. Them are eyes that
belong in an asylum, I'm tellin' ya. Your Doctor
Frankenstein set his mind on a job and he's going to finish
it!
(reaches for her hand)
Now come, girl! The faster I get this into the laboratory,
the faster I get you into the loft!
He yanks her away, she laughs
gleefully, and they disappear into the
woods.
SCENE ONE
LIGHTS UP on the Frankenstein Manor. A
small group of people has gathered for
some sort of celebration, and some of
them have filtered from the dining room
into the drawing room. Pleasant
harpsichord music is playing. In the
group are VICTOR FRANKENSTEIN, an
attractive, though bookish-looking man
in his 30's; his father ALPHONSE, a man
in his sixties; Victor's cousin
ELIZABETH, a beautiful woman in her mid
twenties; JUSTINE, another attractive
woman, also in her twenties; WILLIAM
FRANKENSTEIN, a boy of thirteen and
Victor's stepbrother; HENRY CLERVAL; a
dashing man around thirty; and the
local MAGISTRATE, a blustery man in his
fifties. As the lights come up and the
happy music plays, these people are in
the midst of conversation and
pleasantries. Alphonse steps to the
forefront, and raises a glass.
ALPHONSE
My friends...
(the group pays attention)
My friends...a toast.
(glasses raised)
To my son, Victor, and to my daughter Elizabeth...upon the
announcement of their engagement to be married!
(the group chuckles derisively)
I apologize. I am an old man and my sense of humor has,
perhaps, deteriorated over the years! Victor, no father
could be more proud of his son. Your achievements at the
university are well known and recorded throughout academic
and scientific circles in Europe. Your dedication to me and
to the Frankenstein family is well known and recorded
throughout...well, the kitchen.
(chuckles from all)
You've been steadfast, loyal, honorable...and a great solace
to me when your dear stepmother took ill and left us, so
suddenly, last year. Before too very long, you shall inherit
not only my medical practice here in Geneva, but also this
house and these magnificent grounds. Though I plan to be
around for a little while yet...
(chuckles from the assembly)
...I know that, when I depart, I will be leaving all of this
in highly capable and loving hands.
(beat; renewed enthusiasm)
And Elizabeth...you came to us as an infant.
(to Magistrate)
Magistrate, Elizabeth is the child of my wife's cousin, and
with the tragic death of her father and mother, we tried here
to provide her with the love of our family.
(to Elizabeth)
I hope we have succeeded in pleasing you, Elizabeth, as you
have succeeded in pleasing us. You and Victor are brother
and sister, soon to be husband and wife. An odd
circumstance, to say the least--a circumstance, however, that
should surprise no one, for this is, after all, the House of
Frankenstein! To you both, and to us all!
All say "Here! Here!" and drink the
toast. The group disperses, as
Elizabeth takes Victor's arm, and moves
him away. The crowd chatters and the
music continues to play quietly in the
background.
ELIZABETH
Well...?
VICTOR
Well...?
ELIZABETH
Have you told him?
VICTOR
(beat)
No.
ELIZABETH
Then don't.
VICTOR
Elizabeth...
ELIZABETH
Don't go. I'm trying to be helpful, you see? I know how
difficult it is for you to tell your father that you're
leaving again, so the simple solution is to stay!
VICTOR
I wish I could share your mirth, Elizabeth, but I don't find
this to be a frivolous matter. I am needed in Ingoldstadt.
ELIZABETH
You are needed here, Victor. Your father can no longer tend
to the maintenance of the manor. Or to his patients. He has
buried two wives, Victor. He is a beaten man. And now with
our wedding planned and scheduled, the next six months will
tax his capacity a hundred fold.
VICTOR
He has William.
ELIZABETH
Your half brother is a child, Victor. He has a governess,
for heaven's sake. We need you.
VICTOR
I am a doctor, Elizabeth.
ELIZABETH
You can be a doctor here, Victor. Geneva needs doctors as
urgently as Ingoldstadt.
VICTOR
Hardly, Elizabeth. Geneva doesn't have the cholera.
ELIZABETH
Nor do you, Victor. I hope you never shall. Stay. Please.
For my sake.
ALPHONSE
(interrupting, with humor;
Justine, William and Clerval
enter as well)
I beg your pardon, young people, but this conversation
appears entirely too cumbersome. I'll kindly ask you to
raise your eyebrows and enjoy yourselves or I'll have you
removed from the premises!
VICTOR
I apologize, father.
ELIZABETH
Victor plans to return to Ingoldstadt.
VICTOR
Elizabeth...
ALPHONSE
What?
ELIZABETH
Justine, take William back into the dining room.
WILLIAM
I want to hear!
ELIZABETH
Justine...
JUSTINE
Yes, Elizabeth.
(leaves, with William)
ELIZABETH
(to Victor)
Well. Go on. Tell him.
VICTOR
(beat)
Father, I must go back. When I completed my studies at the
University I didn't close down my laboratory. I couldn't.
I'm on the brink of...discoveries vital to the well-being of
the victims of the epidemic, and I...
ALPHONSE
According to whom are these discoveries vital, Victor?
VICTOR
What do you mean?
ALPHONSE
I mean what medical authority has sanctioned your work? What
eminent physician has offered testimony that your
experimentation is valid?
VICTOR
(beat)
I need no eminent physician to sanction my work. Eminent
physicians will be asking me to sanction their work! The
only testimony I need to validate my experimentation...is my
own.
ALPHONSE
I had hoped you'd move your work here. To our laboratory. I
had hoped you would become part of the Geneva community,
manage the estate, prepare for your wedding.
VICTOR
A month. Two months at the most. I'll return long before
the wedding. I just need to complete my work.
ALPHONSE
(beat)
Very well, Victor. You'll leave, when? In the morning?
VICTOR
I can stay the week, if you like.
ALPHONSE
(abruptly)
No. Leave immediately. I know that's what you want.
Perhaps it will expedite your return.
VICTOR
Thank you, father.
(Alphonse walks away)
ELIZABETH
I hope, Victor, that when you return, you'll bring everything
with you. Your mind. Your heart. Your soul. I'm selfish,
Victor. Like you. It is my intention to marry all of you.
VICTOR
Please understand, Elizabeth, I...
ELIZABETH
Go, Victor. Now. Prepare for your journey now.