Auckland Theatre Company Presents MARY: The Birth Of Frankenstein
Press Release – Elephant Publicity
From the minds of award-winning playwright Jess Sayer and director Oliver Driver, comes MARY: The Birth of Frankenstein – a blood-drenched phantasmagoria that reimagines the infamous stormy evening when Mary Shelley, the mother of gothic horror, conceived Frankenstein.Auckland Theatre Company proudly presents this world premiere, playing at the ASB Waterfront Theatre from 19 August – 7 September. You'd kill to get a ticket.
In the summer of 1816, a real-life gathering took place at the Villa Diodati on the shores of Lake Geneva. The sun had vanished. In its place: lightning, laudanum, lust, and something darker still. It was here that literary history was made, and monsters were born. Before the night ends, some creatures will emerge. Some made. And one that will haunt the world for generations.
' Can you not feel it? The power of possibility coursing through your veins? What if tonight we are not men, or women… but gods? '
Forget polite conversations from the drawing room. MARY is visceral horror with its teeth bared – part psychological thriller, part hallucinatory fever dream. Think Black Swan wielding words like weapons, stitched with the ferocity of Tarantino, and the spiralling intellect of Stoppard in a blackout. This is not a historical literary tribute. It is an unrelenting plunge into the creative abyss.
The notorious gathering of artistic rockstars is reimagined at their most wicked, burning bright and burning out. Director Oliver Driver adds, 'I want audiences to leave Googling these lunatics. I want them disturbed, exhilarated, and weirdly inspired.' At the centre is 18-year-old Mary (Olivia Tennet), consumed with conflict, her invincible perseverance overcomes all obstacles as she prepares to unleash something terrifying and claim it as her own. Surrounding her are the dangerous poet Lord Byron (Tom Clarke), wild and charming Percy Shelley (Dominic Ona-Ariki), volatile and jealous stepsister Claire (Timmie Cameron), and neurotic physician John Polidori (Arlo Green). When Byron dares them to write a ghost story, what follows is a descent into seduction, rivalry, and madness. Mary walks out with a legend, but at what cost?
Helmed by the same visionary director that brought audiences to the sell-out season of Amadeus in 2017, the production is packed with the theatrical firepower of Lighting Designer Jo Kilgour, Composer & Sound Designer Leon Radojkovic, and Movement Coach Ross McCormack. Adding to that power are spectacular costumes by acclaimed film designer Sarah Voon, making her thrilling theatrical debut, and Set Design by John Verryt. A fiendishly clever script by Jess Sayer brings a modern flavour to historical icons so audiences can 'engage with how cuttingly contemporary these artists were in their time.' Every element is meticulously crafted to conjure a stage alive with illusion, atmosphere, and the thrill of pure stagecraft.
MARY is a warning wrapped in spectacle. In an age where genetic engineering, artificial intelligence and unchecked ambition dominate headlines, this story feels more urgent than ever. It explores the fierce demands of creation – the sacrifices, the fury, and the power it takes to bring something new into the world. It's a tale of rebellion, of breaking societal constraints, of ambition and the need to be seen, and of the terrifying clarity that sometimes comes when you're pushed beyond your limits.
With the highly anticipated 2025 release of Guillermo del Toro's Frankenstein on Netflix, now is the time to return to where it all began.
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6 hours ago
- Scoop
Auckland Theatre Company Presents MARY: The Birth Of Frankenstein
Press Release – Elephant Publicity From the minds of award-winning playwright Jess Sayer and director Oliver Driver, comes MARY: The Birth of Frankenstein – a blood-drenched phantasmagoria that reimagines the infamous stormy evening when Mary Shelley, the mother of gothic horror, conceived Theatre Company proudly presents this world premiere, playing at the ASB Waterfront Theatre from 19 August – 7 September. You'd kill to get a ticket. In the summer of 1816, a real-life gathering took place at the Villa Diodati on the shores of Lake Geneva. The sun had vanished. In its place: lightning, laudanum, lust, and something darker still. It was here that literary history was made, and monsters were born. Before the night ends, some creatures will emerge. Some made. And one that will haunt the world for generations. ' Can you not feel it? The power of possibility coursing through your veins? What if tonight we are not men, or women… but gods? ' Forget polite conversations from the drawing room. MARY is visceral horror with its teeth bared – part psychological thriller, part hallucinatory fever dream. Think Black Swan wielding words like weapons, stitched with the ferocity of Tarantino, and the spiralling intellect of Stoppard in a blackout. This is not a historical literary tribute. It is an unrelenting plunge into the creative abyss. The notorious gathering of artistic rockstars is reimagined at their most wicked, burning bright and burning out. Director Oliver Driver adds, 'I want audiences to leave Googling these lunatics. I want them disturbed, exhilarated, and weirdly inspired.' At the centre is 18-year-old Mary (Olivia Tennet), consumed with conflict, her invincible perseverance overcomes all obstacles as she prepares to unleash something terrifying and claim it as her own. Surrounding her are the dangerous poet Lord Byron (Tom Clarke), wild and charming Percy Shelley (Dominic Ona-Ariki), volatile and jealous stepsister Claire (Timmie Cameron), and neurotic physician John Polidori (Arlo Green). When Byron dares them to write a ghost story, what follows is a descent into seduction, rivalry, and madness. Mary walks out with a legend, but at what cost? Helmed by the same visionary director that brought audiences to the sell-out season of Amadeus in 2017, the production is packed with the theatrical firepower of Lighting Designer Jo Kilgour, Composer & Sound Designer Leon Radojkovic, and Movement Coach Ross McCormack. Adding to that power are spectacular costumes by acclaimed film designer Sarah Voon, making her thrilling theatrical debut, and Set Design by John Verryt. A fiendishly clever script by Jess Sayer brings a modern flavour to historical icons so audiences can 'engage with how cuttingly contemporary these artists were in their time.' Every element is meticulously crafted to conjure a stage alive with illusion, atmosphere, and the thrill of pure stagecraft. MARY is a warning wrapped in spectacle. In an age where genetic engineering, artificial intelligence and unchecked ambition dominate headlines, this story feels more urgent than ever. It explores the fierce demands of creation – the sacrifices, the fury, and the power it takes to bring something new into the world. It's a tale of rebellion, of breaking societal constraints, of ambition and the need to be seen, and of the terrifying clarity that sometimes comes when you're pushed beyond your limits. With the highly anticipated 2025 release of Guillermo del Toro's Frankenstein on Netflix, now is the time to return to where it all began.
Scoop
7 hours ago
- Scoop
Auckland Theatre Company Presents MARY: The Birth Of Frankenstein
From the minds of award-winning playwright Jess Sayer and director Oliver Driver, comes MARY: The Birth of Frankenstein - a blood-drenched phantasmagoria that reimagines the infamous stormy evening when Mary Shelley, the mother of gothic horror, conceived Frankenstein. Auckland Theatre Company proudly presents this world premiere, playing at the ASB Waterfront Theatre from 19 August – 7 September. You'd kill to get a ticket. In the summer of 1816, a real-life gathering took place at the Villa Diodati on the shores of Lake Geneva. The sun had vanished. In its place: lightning, laudanum, lust, and something darker still. It was here that literary history was made, and monsters were born. Before the night ends, some creatures will emerge. Some made. And one that will haunt the world for generations. " Can you not feel it? The power of possibility coursing through your veins? What if tonight we are not men, or women… but gods?" Forget polite conversations from the drawing room. MARY is visceral horror with its teeth bared - part psychological thriller, part hallucinatory fever dream. Think Black Swan wielding words like weapons, stitched with the ferocity of Tarantino, and the spiralling intellect of Stoppard in a blackout. This is not a historical literary tribute. It is an unrelenting plunge into the creative abyss. The notorious gathering of artistic rockstars is reimagined at their most wicked, burning bright and burning out. Director Oliver Driver adds, 'I want audiences to leave Googling these lunatics. I want them disturbed, exhilarated, and weirdly inspired.' At the centre is 18-year-old Mary (Olivia Tennet), consumed with conflict, her invincible perseverance overcomes all obstacles as she prepares to unleash something terrifying and claim it as her own. Surrounding her are the dangerous poet Lord Byron (Tom Clarke), wild and charming Percy Shelley (Dominic Ona-Ariki), volatile and jealous stepsister Claire (Timmie Cameron), and neurotic physician John Polidori (Arlo Green). When Byron dares them to write a ghost story, what follows is a descent into seduction, rivalry, and madness. Mary walks out with a legend, but at what cost? Helmed by the same visionary director that brought audiences to the sell-out season of Amadeus in 2017, the production is packed with the theatrical firepower of Lighting Designer Jo Kilgour, Composer & Sound Designer Leon Radojkovic, and Movement Coach Ross McCormack. Adding to that power are spectacular costumes by acclaimed film designer Sarah Voon, making her thrilling theatrical debut, and Set Design by John Verryt. A fiendishly clever script by Jess Sayer brings a modern flavour to historical icons so audiences can 'engage with how cuttingly contemporary these artists were in their time.' Every element is meticulously crafted to conjure a stage alive with illusion, atmosphere, and the thrill of pure stagecraft. MARY is a warning wrapped in spectacle. In an age where genetic engineering, artificial intelligence and unchecked ambition dominate headlines, this story feels more urgent than ever. It explores the fierce demands of creation - the sacrifices, the fury, and the power it takes to bring something new into the world. It's a tale of rebellion, of breaking societal constraints, of ambition and the need to be seen, and of the terrifying clarity that sometimes comes when you're pushed beyond your limits. With the highly anticipated 2025 release of Guillermo del Toro's Frankenstein on Netflix, now is the time to return to where it all began.
Scoop
13-06-2025
- Scoop
Jazmine Mary Releases Third Studio Album ‘I Want To Rock And Roll'
'I was feeling such devastation and heartbreak and sadness in the last two years, that when there were moments of relief from that, that's when I was writing. They're expressed in moments of relief because it turns out, when you're in bed, sad, you can't write music.' It could have something to do with a whiplash two years of highs and lows, or maybe it was the synchronicity of time, place, people and mall outings that did it... Whatever's to thank, I Want To Rock And Roll is a trove of bright, folk gems from indie-folk visionary, Jazmine Mary. An album hopeful by circumstance, and brilliant from a few heavy seasons of artistic growth, Jazmine Mary's glowing new collection is emotionally and texturally abundant, and is all yours to listen to this Aotearoa winter, with the new album released on June 13th 2025. The album release follows the success of transcendent first single, Memphis and the follow up My Brilliance Topping the student radio charts, alt airplay charts and Top 20 Hot NZ charts! I Want To Rock And Roll first took root immediately following the creation of Jazmine's sophomore album Dog, and while you could happily listen to the two back-to-back without a hitch, this third collection feels wholly self-assured in its harsh dark and dreamy light duality. Mostly recorded at Tāmaki Makaurau's Roundhead Studios with De Stevens (Erny Belle, Molly Payton, Office Dog), I Want To Rock And Roll see's Mary on a more refined sonic journey and denotes a shift in process. ' you're in complete darkness, but you can see the light on in the kitchen in the gap below the door.' 'It's kind of like learning who you are, so you can just create from that. It's like, in a conversation- You know what to say when you know who you are' Featuring Jazmine Mary faithfuls, the incredibly talented Dave Khan, Louisa Nicklin and Arahi, lush cello accompaniments from Womb's Cello Forrester, clarinet and bass feature from Cass Basil, all of which sink into the artfully crafted I Want To Rock And Roll. 'Each song is a really different emotional space. So there'll be times that I'll relate more to my own songs, and other times I feel a stranger to them.' Mary's work moves between the deeply personal and the avant-garde, vulnerable and tongue-in-cheek, with their idiosyncratic songwriting haunting, heart-wrenching, and raw. Their live performance has been described as both mesmerising and unsettling. With music spanning across genres of noir folk and alternative, and with their visual and sonic world informed by their life as a performance artist. In recent times this has included global performances at Ireland's Starling Gallery, Tasmania's renowned MONA, Bangkok's Arts & Cultural Centre, alongside artist residencies in both France & Thailand. Jazmine Mary has garnered a steady and devoted cult following in Aotearoa and beyond. They have toured nationally with Reb Fountain, as well as taking their sound abroad to Australia, China and Europe. Their debut album, The Licking of a Tangerine, won the 2022 Best Independent Debut at the prestigious Taite Music Awards, and their sophomore album, Dog, was featured in Rolling Stone Australia's 25 Best New Zealand Albums of 2023. They have opened for acclaimed artists including Kurt Vile, Billy Bragg, Gang of Youths and Hand Habits. They have been supported by NZ Music Icon, Julia Deans, as well as being an integral part of Atomic!, the kiwi rock royalty supergroup, touring in May 2025. Jazmine Mary's third studio album, I Want to Rock and Roll is released on June 13th on Streaming Platforms and Vinyl via Flying Nun Records. To celebrate this hopeful, brilliant release Jazmine Mary with their full band are heading out on the road for a string of album release show's. Jazmine Mary - I Want to Rock and Roll - album release tour dates: July 25th - Hamilton - Last Place * July 26th - Auckland - Double Whammy * July 31st - Wellington - Meow - August 1st - Lyttelton - Lyttelton coffee co.* Saturday 2nd August - Dunedin - Erricks -
