Monstress @ Vertigo Theatre
Monstress by Trevor Schmidt was an interesting adaptation to the Vertigo stage. With only two actors in such a large performance venue, Sydney Williams and Julia Van Dam are presented with a challenge of which occassionally their technical team does not live up to.
Walking into the theatre, the first thing that catches the eye is the chandelier of scissors, precariously dangling above the corspe on the table, an ever present threat that sets the mood. The eerie lighting design sets a green cast, with the impeccible scenic design of the Vetruvian Woman and gold leafing on every wall setting for exactly what type of environment we are in. If there is a more stunning visual Vertigo production this season, I will eat my hat. But, this gorgeous set did clearly provide limitations in some way to Larissa Poho’s lighting as there were moments where the actors were almost boxed into specific light set-ups, particularly Williams as the Doctor while providing us exposition.
With only two actors and three characters ever seen on stage (Van Dam play both the Body/Lydia Chartreuse and Mrs. Hyde) we run into the regular problem small scales run into - exposition. There are a number of moments of dialogue, particularly at the top of act 1 where a character delivers a windfall of exposition to the audience for a long amount of time. Williams does her best in these moments, but a lot of this could have been trimmed down, particularly as the average Vertigo audience is incredibly familiar with the horror convention, not needing an explanation of what Frankenstein is.
Van Dam certainly stood out, carrying the energy of Frankenstein’s monster quite well. We never quite knew what choice she was going to make next. The costuming choices that Noah made (as he was also the set and costume designer) were the topic of conversation for myself and my friend that evening, varying from 18th century Victorian workwear for the Doctor, to nude, to a dressing gown, to a muzzle and leash, to a full black piece of cloth completely obscuring Mrs. Hybe. This lack of consistency on what time we were left myself and my viewing companion confused, even though we did like all of the pieces individually.