Gothic love
KLPac will be staging a dark play about Frankenstein who falls for one of his creations, writes SHEELA CHANDRAN.
TO get into the Halloween mood, check out Frankenstein in Love that is playing at the Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre starting tonight.
Inspired by Mary Shelly's classic horror story, Frankenstein in Love is writer-director Clive Barker's (Lord of Illusions, Nightbreed and Candyman and Hellraiser) updated interpretation of the terrifying tale.

The cast of Frankenstein in Love. (From left) Rashid Salleh, Melissa Maureen and Knnie Dowle.The story is about the last few days of the world where human life has become meaningless as mass genocide and sickness spread throughout the land.
In this gothic world, a bizarre love triangle emerges between Dr Joseph Frankenstein and his creation Veronique Flecker.
Frankenstein in Love’s story has elements of love and horror mixed with the macabre. It takes place in an alternate world where all its characters are corrupt, dead and monstrous.
Characters include El Coco (Rashid Salleh), Veronique Flecker (Melissa Maureen), President Garcia Perez (Patrick Teoh), Lazarro (Douglas Lim), Camilo Bozuffi (Ari Ratos) and Dr Frankenstein (Kennie Dowle). Gavin Yap directs the two-hour play.
According to Rashid, it is a challenge playing the conflicted anti-hero, El Coco. He said it is a stiff and boring role, which is a drastic change from his other theatrical works.
“I'm best known as a funny man and people associate me with my theatrical comedies such as A Streetcar Named Desire, Charley’s Auntie, Gross Indecency and The Importance of Being Earnest.
“Frankenstein in Love is a new ball game that involves dark humour and having to act with a straight face.
“Most of the actors in this play are comedians so it is challenging for us to switch from comedy to horror. This play requires lots of understanding and discipline. We are grounded and kept to our limits,” he said during an interview recently.
Rashid plays the mysterious El Coco aka Cesar Guerrero or The Boogeyman, a hideously disfigured golem who falls for Veronique, one of Frankenstein's masterpieces. When Frankenstein himself decides to woo Veronique, a peculiar love triangle emerges.
First-time theatre performer Melissa found her role interesting yet challenging. The actress who has starred in Table for Two, Gol & Gincu the Series and Realiti, said that acting in a stage play is different from TV acting and modelling.
“There's so much to learn in theatre. Everything is much bigger on stage and all the attention is on you. There is no room for mistakes,” she explained.
In this play, Veronique is Frankenstein's most intact creations. She is a vengeful monster with weird theories about life.
The love between El Coco and Veronique is unique where both are creations that are discovering each other. Apart from the love triangle, the story has other sub-segments such as father-son relationship and revenge.
She said: “Initially I was intimidated as I did not know what to expect from the other theatre personalities. However, working with them has been fun as they have been helpful and have made me love theatre even more.”
Frankenstein in Love is staged at 8pm from now till Nov 3 at Pentas 1 at The Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre, Sengul Park, Jalan Strachan, Kuala Lumpur. The show will be staged at 3pm on Oct 29. There is no show on Oct 30. For more information, call 03-4047 9010 or browse www.klpac.com.