It's Alive Again: Shake & Stir Theatre Co's Stage Production of 'Frankenstein' Is Returning to Brisbane in 2025
If you missed this stage adaptation of Mary Shelley's masterpiece a few years back, here's your next chance to see it in Brisbane.
2025 is a great year to be a fan of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein in Brisbane. Not one but two films based on the literary masterpiece are headed to screens — one from Guillermo del Toro (Guillermo del Toro' Pinocchio) for Netflix, the other courtesy of actor-turned-filmmaker Maggie Gyllenhaal (The Lost Daughter) — and Shake & Stir Theatre Co's take on the tale has also locked in its Sunshine State return.
This stage version of Frankenstein debuted in Queensland in 2023, headed to Melbourne and Sydney in 2024, and now heads back to Brissie in 2025. The story remains the same as it has since 1818, of course, following a young scientist tormented by grief, a bold push to thwart mortality, plus the consequences sparked by his act of playing god. And, as always, it covers the impact upon the being that's spliced together, jolted into existence, yearns to belong, but is swiftly and cruelly shunned.
Yes, some of gothic horror's greatest works clearly foresaw their longevity. Bram Stoker's Dracula will never die, and Mary Shelley's Frankenstein will never stop being brought to life, either. Shake & Stir Theatre Co took on the former back in 2015 and 2017, in a brand-new world-premiere stage production that sunk its fangs into the most famous vampire tale there is. Then, the South Brisbane-based theatre company turned its attention to Victor Frankenstein and his creation.
"Gothic fiction is a passion of the company, and Shelley's ground-breaking novel, credited for both its gothic roots and for pioneering the science fiction genre, presents an excitingly monstrous challenge in mounting it for the stage," said Shake & Stir Co-Artistic Director Nick Skubij, who is also directing Frankenstein, when the initial Brisbane season was announced.
"This production invites audiences on a journey into the mind of a madman and they will see things on stage that they've seldom seen before. This is Shelley's classic story told in a brand-new, hi-tech monster of a show. Multiple axis of automation, over 140 square metres of LED video panels, pyrotechnics and a cinematic, sweeping score — all working seamlessly together to bring Shelly's tale to visceral life."
Accordingly, audiences at QPAC Playhouse from Saturday, May 24–Sunday, June 8, 2025 can expect an immersive performance that steps through Shelley's classic — and with a big emphasis on production design. Think: those video and digital elements playing a hefty part, and the meticulous sound design setting the mood.
Shake & Stir's Frankenstein follows not only Dracula, but also Wuthering Heights, Jane Eyre, A Christmas Carol, Macbeth, Othello, Animal Farm, The Twits, Fantastic Mr Fox and Romeo & Juliet among the company's looks backwards. In the past few years, the theatre group has brought Fourteen and Tae Tae in the Land of Yaaas! — both personal stories, with the first based on the memoir of the same name — to the stage as well.
The oft-adapted Frankenstein is no stranger to audiences, including earning a stunning Royal National Theatre iteration by Danny Boyle (Yesterday) starring Benedict Cumberbatch (The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar) and Jonny Lee Miller (Guy Ritchie's The Covenant) in 2011 — with the two actors rotating roles between Victor and the creature each night — that's been playing cinemas worldwide ever since thanks to NT Live.
With Shake & Stir's take, Skubij sees the timelessness of the work, plus the current parallels. "It's been fascinating to consider this incredible work dealing with themes of advancement, progress and pushing the limits of possibility alongside contemporary advances in AI technology today. The story could not be more relevant," he noted.
"Like Victor Frankenstein's creation, AI is arguably neither good nor bad; it's how it's built and used that dictates its legacy."
"Frankenstein's monster is just that: a living, breathing 'being' far superior in capabilities than any natural human could ever be. But what are the consequences of using science to play God?"
Shake & Stir Theatre Co's Frankenstein will play Brisbane's QPAC Playhouse from Saturday, May 24–Sunday, June 8, 2025. Head to the production's website for further information and tickets.
Images: Joel Devereaux.
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