The desire to fit in somewhere has compelled many mindsets over time. Where do we belong in a world that encourages us to be part of something that seems to rid us of our identity? This very concept is explored in Cinderella and Frankenstein’s Monster Are Dead. A new piece of work from New York-based company The Beachcombers, who make their Brighton Fringe debut after a successful run of a show in Edinburgh last year.
Cinderella and Frankenstein’s Monster are DeadLangyue Hu wrote, directed and produced this very interesting piece, which explored how we identify ourselves in life, with an emphasis on being an immigrant student in a new country and being different from the point of view of our main character, Zhao Lan. Hu wrote it in a way that allowed us to get lost in the fairy tale, yet immerse ourselves in the reality of being an outsider, that, ever so slowly, we may find ourselves changing just to fit in. Losing a major part of ourselves just so we can survive, like Cinderella and Frankenstein’s monster did in their respective books.
Zhao Lan was played beautifully by Lan Jiang, who explored how each character was an outsider in detail via her own journey with learning English with the real Grimms version of Ashputtel (Cinderella) and compared it with someone who had inspired her to go on that journey before she did, only her way into learning another language was via Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. The way she invited us into her raw, eye-opening view of the world was heartfelt and engaging, and held our attention as she settled into high school and auditioned for the lead role of Cinderella for the school play, due to feeling engaged with the story. Jiang’s use of language was poetic and painted a picture of her own fairy tale she wanted to create for herself in a warm, comfortable feel to her performance.
As this was opening night at the time of writing, there were naturally some nerves detected. Lan needs to allow herself to settle into the role and enjoy the experience. Other than that, her performance was engaging and strong, especially with having found out that she was genuinely an exchange student off stage. This made the whole play more authentic in terms of wanting to fit in and please everyone via her vocal tone and physical movement. The way she also used nothing but hardback books and notepad paper to create an interpretation of what may have been in her mind was a simple way to create a mental journey, as well as the development into the person she was becoming. To find out what happens next, I highly recommend seeing this show.
Cinderella and Frankenstein’s Monster Are Dead is a cleverly constructed venture into emigration in currently difficult times and has a great journey ahead of it. Not to be missed.
Sascha Cooper
昭兰 (Zhao Lan), a Chinese exchange student in an American high school, often finds herself lost in thoughts of Frankenstein’s monster. Like him, she feels out of place, unseen, unworthy, stitched together in a world that doesn’t quite fit her. When her school’s theatre club is casting for Cinderella, a Grimm Brothers fairytale, she sees the perfect opportunity to prove her worth. It was the first story she ever read in English. No one knows it better than she does. Yet even after she gets the role, she’s still unhappy. Foreign stories glitch into nightmares. She misses the Mandarin rhyme she once proudly sang. It doesn’t take long for her to realize: Both Cinderella and Frankenstein’s monster are dead. She is neither of them.
After receiving rave audience reviews for their debut show “Tide” at the 2024 Edinburgh Fringe, The Beachcombers Actors Ensemble brings their brand new one-woman performance to Brighton Fringe.