Whoa! Forget the flying actors in Spiderman: Turn off the Dark! It looks like Danny Boyle put together a play where characters literally morph into other characters, complete with Jacob's Ladder-style strobe motion! Oh wait, this is just a marketing video. Still, while this "trailer" for Boyle's stage production of Frankenstein probably doesn't visually reflect the final product (though God help us all if it does), it showcases an aspect even more indispensable to theatre than spectacle: The performances.
The reason that the actors keep turning into each other is because Boyle's version will have actors Benedict Cumberbatch and Jonny Lee Miller swapping the roles of Victor and the monster each night. It remains to be seen whether this move will succeed as an artistic triumph or a useless gimmick, but the ominous tone and fierce performances on display here seem to suggest that Boyle is playing for keeps.
Anyway, the play is just starting its run in London, but for the rest of the world, it will be broadcast via satellite on March 17th and again in certain areas on the 24th. The actors will also switch roles for the two broadcasts. That said, there's probably a decent chance that this one will make it to the states before the final version of Spiderman: Turn off the Dark.
[Via Dark Horizons]