“Wollstonecraft” or the rebirth of Frankenstein
Wollstonecraft: an ambitious and highly original reinterpretation, full of freedom, of the classic story of Frankenstein.
To end its season and, at the same time, conclude the mandate of its current artistic director, Olivier Kemeid, the Théâtre de Quat'Sous offers itself an ambitious and very original reinterpretation, full of freedom, of the classic story of Frankenstein.
Wollstonecraft, title of the play, echoes the name of the mother of Mary Shelley, author of Frankenstein or the Modern Prometheus, who was herself an author, considered one of the precursors of feminism.  ;
From this loaded reference, the author Sarah Berthiaume tells the story of a woman in her late thirties who adds up the miscarriages, keeping all her fetuses in her freezer. One night, in complete despair, she will put her frozen fetuses in the revolutionary 3D printer of her friend, producer and seller of Tupperware products. This will result in the birth of a creature…
To get a little into the groove, imagine the style of filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar (an exploration of the theme of motherhood with twisted and flamboyant characters in a colorful and flashy set and costumes) at service of a dystopia in which technology is replacing humans, all steeped in magical realism. Both in terms of the text and the staging of Édith Patenaude, the whole is quite breathtaking.
Throughout the show, Sarah Berthiaume offers rich reflections on life, motherhood, art (both its creation and its reception) and our time. Because Wollstonecraft, even if the plot takes place in the near future, could not be more topical.
Through the character of the saleswoman of Tupperware, which delivers monologues from a comic genius, the play criticizes the relentless pursuit of perpetual capitalist growth in the context of a dangerous climate crisis. And with this other character, a poet who entrusts the writing of his texts to an artificial intelligence, the author seems to have predicted the recent rise of the ChatGPT application.
The whole thing makes up a play that is both funny and harrowing, entertaining and likely to fuel many discussions.
Until May 13 at the Théâtre de Quat'Sous .
