Benedict Cumberbatch in Frankenstein

Does anyone else think that sounds totally cool? Who is Benedict Cumberbatch, you ask? Oh, you poor soul. Go now and watch BBC's Sherlock (first series is on Netflix).

Now, can you imagine him playing Dr. Frankenstein? Oh, yes! But it gets better: can you imagine him playing Frankenstein's monster? You see, last year, the National Theatre in London put on a production of Frankenstein starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Johnny Lee Miller, but the cool thing was that on alternate nights the actors took turns playing Frankenstein and the Monster. What an interesting approach to the play. What an acting challenge!

Now, this might be just another story of why I wish I lived in London*, but it turns out there is a chance for those of us on the other side of the world: they filmed both productions, and now they're showing the movies. And I found out about it just in time! They're showing the Cumberbatch-as-Monster version next week, and the Cumberbatch-as-Frankenstein one the week after.

Frankenstein is not my favourite story (probably because my grade four teacher showed the Boris Karloff movie to us at Halloween and I had nightmares for weeks!). But I think this is a play that must be seen. I'll let you know how it goes!

*I missed David Tennant and Catherine Tate in Much Ado About Nothing. :(