2 of TV's Sherlock Holmes Actors star in "Frankenstein"

"Lock the door."
"And hope they don't have blasters."

Now that the rest of the world knows who Benedict Cumberbatch is, we can get back to the real reason the man exists -- to play great characters.  The star of BBC's outstandingly powerful "Sherlock", Great Britain's take on the Sherlock Holmes character, Cumberbatch has co-starred with Johnny Lee Miller, star of the CBS drama "Elementary", USA's desperate attempt to create a Shelock Holmes series that doesn't look like a CSI knockoff, in a stage production of "Frankenstein".

The play, adapted by Nick Dear and directed by Oscar winner Danny Boyle, premiered in 2011 at the National Theater in London, and a live broadcast is showing in encore performances in theaters throughout the UK and in select U.S. cities on October 31st, 2013.

The production is unique in that both leads played Victor Frankenstein and The Creature.  Which lead played which role depended on the production date.  Had I known about this production when it happened, I would have dragged my wife to The Tivoli in St. Louis to see the initial live broadcast.

The cinema broadcasts are relatively new for the National Theater, and their list of productions for this year include "Macbeth" starring Kenneth Branaugh, "Othello" starring Adrian Lester and Rory Kinnear ("Skyfall"), and "Coriolanus" starring Tom Hiddleston ("Thor", "The Avengers").  Check their website at http://ntlive.nationaltheatre.org.uk to see if the cinema broadcasts will be coming to a theater in your area.


Regarding the television shows these two actor are involved in, "Elementary" has cast Rhys Ifans in the role of Mycroft Holmes, Sherlock's older brother, and Sean Pertwee (Event Horizon, Equilibrium) in the role of Inspector Lestrade.  Looks like CBS is confident in the strides "Elementary" has made over the previous season and has invested in the canon.

Season 3 of "Sherlock" will premier on BBC in October 2013, with broadcasts on PBS' "Masterpiece" program in 2014.  Also, director Guillermo del Toro has revealed that he is considering Cumberbatch to star in his upcoming adaptation of...  ...care to take a guess?  Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.  The two are already planning on working together for del Toro's next horror project Crimson Peak, and with Pacific Rim set to premier this weekend, we'll see how much clout del Toro will have once the figures come in.  Will the crowds come out for it, or flock again to Despicable Me 2?  My hope is the former, as I would love to see more of Cumberbatch in pretty much anything.

Article originally published on the blog Geek Goes Rogue.  Find the article here.

There Is No Box.
Zach

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