S76 - Mary Shelly by Helen Edmundson - 2m, 4w
Mary Shelley: daughter of Mary Wollstonecraft; lover of Shelley; author of Frankenstein…
Helen Edmundson's compelling play explores a crucial episode in the early life of Mary Shelley – her meeting and scandalous elopement aged sixteen with Percy Bysshe Shelley, and its consequences for her sisters, her stepmother and above all, her troubled father, the political philosopher William Godwin.
Labels: drama, historical, period
posted by Larisa at 5:07 PM
8 Comments:
A 19th century soap opera. A free-thinking, dysfunctional family under the leadership of a radical philosopher is a crazy ride. Interesting roles. I think a play about the author of Frankenstein could sell. Yes for me.
There's not a lot of action, but I loved the dialogue. The characters were very believable. There are a lot of scene changes but all doable. I agree with Howard. I think it would sell. Yes for me.
I do like historical plays that rip away the romanticism we have about real people - and this play does that. I don't think it does it with very much passion or drive however - it seems as dry as a piece of sandpaper to me, as much as I loved the character of Fanny (the tragedy of the story is really hers) I just makes me shrug so going forward with it in the list is fine.
I really liked this. I am concerned about the run time, but I think it would have a draw with new and old audiences. It was fascinating to learn about these figures stories and I was very drawn into the characters and story.
Wow! I had the opportunity to visit Villa Diodati when I was in Geneva last summer. It is a private residence and not open for tours, but I had a lovely countryside walk and took some pictures of it. I didn't know a lot about Mary and her sister and while I found the play to be less action that would have preferred, I found it engaging and think it would sell. I am concerned about the scenic requirements, running time and costuming that would be required as many others have mentioned, but I think the end product would be worth the pain to get there. That being said - I would not want this in the same season as Queen Margaret because I think it would be too similar. Of the 2 - I prefer this one, but know that we are also wanting a Shakespeare. Yes to keep it in the mix from me.
While I enjoyed the story, and felt it had potential, I found the script lacking in a number of ways. I didn't buy the "love at first sight" set-up between Mary and Shelley; it felt perfunctory. It would rely on superb acting to make it plausible. And while the moral choices of the characters are indeed at the heart of the story, it all seemed too casual to me. Within the context of the time period, surely even the characters themselves would have expressed more concern about how society would crucify them for their lifestyles. I agree with Linda Sue that the Fanny character was most interesting and her tragedy was the heart of the piece. But it felt much too long. It didn't help that it was broken into five acts. Having said all this, I agree that the title could be a draw and I wouldn't be opposed if there were a lot of support from others.
I enjoyed this play's ability to regale historical events through various perspectives, using the Godwin family as a lens through which to understand the events of Mary Shelley's young adulthood. I could also see how this play could be a draw for fans of history and gothic literature. That being said, I felt that the characters' stories' remained somewhat undeveloped, with an anticlimactic ending for Fanny, Jane, and Harriet and little suggestion of the events that would shortly follow relating to Shelley's death and the success of Frankenstein. I love the idea of a historical play focusing on the life of a woman, but I think we could find a better option.
This is a tough one. I liked it a lot but it felt it long. I think the ending is perfect as it about a specific period of time starting with them meeting and ending with their marriage and her having written the novel. I also can see a number of tech issues but would vote yes if we could figure that out. We also need to find out if this is the final version of the script as it mentions that this version went to press before the play opened so there might have been changes, maybe significant ones.
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