The Sotonettes are very proud to say that the first book club meeting was a great success – thanks to all those that came along and discussed Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca.
November brings a new book: Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. While looking for a suitable cover to feature on our Book Club page, I was astounded by the number of different versions (and beautiful covers) that exist, so I’m sure no-one will have too much trouble getting their hands on a copy. There are a few copies still available in Southampton’s Libraries, and also a spoken word CD (thanks to BBC Radio 4) available to borrow if you don’t fancy reading! I’m confident that Southampton’s charity shops will do us proud too – if you’re struggling to find a copy, post on our Facebook page or the Book Club Facebook event and hopefully a fellow Sotonette will be able to help you out.
I am a massive fan and big supporter of the National Theatre and it’s productions… some of you may remember the critical acclaim that the NT attracted when Danny Boyle cast and directed Jonny Lee Miller and Benedict Cumberbatch in a new production of Frankenstein back in 2011. What made this production particularly special was that the two lead actors would alternate playing the roles of Victor Frankenstein and Creature each night. It was also one of the National’s first performances to be broadcast live to hundreds of UK cinemas as part of the NT Live season.
I was lucky enough to see Cumberbatch play Creature – an absolutely enthralling performance throughout – but never got to see Miller’s interpretation of the character (and vice versa for Cumberbatch’s version of Frankenstein). For anyone that missed either/both productions, the National Theatre are showing both recorded versions in cinemas up and down the country in October and November as part of their 50th anniversary celebrations – perfect timing for our book club too!
The Harbour Lights Picturehouse will be showing the play on Halloween, Thursday 31st October (Benedict Cumberbatch as Creature) and two weeks later, on Thursday 14th November (Jonny Lee Miller as Creature). For more information on the cinema showings of this tremendous production, have a look at the NT website. I can’t urge you all enough to go and see one or both of these – not often do we see big names like Miller and Cumberbatch on stage with such an imaginative director, and we don’t even have to go to London! If you want to see a trailer, the Harbour Lights have one on their website.
With all this talk of theatre, I should also remind you about our main monthly meeting – Southampton’s very own Nuffield Theatre will be coming to tell us everything we need to know about getting a production from script to stage, and answer any questions we might have too.
Hope to see you all soon!
Jen x