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200多年來瑪麗•雪萊的《科學怪人》多次被搬上銀幕，除了科幻色彩和恐怖的情節，小說更多的是展現一種人性的掙扎。新版話劇《科學怪人》在秉承了原著的精神上，改變了傳統的敘事角度，述說了一個不一樣的科學怪人。當然，該劇最大的亮點之一還有兩名主角的互換演出。
With drool dripping down his chin and a body riddled with sutures, Frankenstein’s Creature is born before the audience. Science has brought this once-dead corpse back to life, and now he struggles, both childlike and terrible, to stand on his own two feet.
他嘴角留著口水，全身都是縫合的針腳印，弗蘭肯斯坦創造的怪物就這樣鮮活地出現在觀眾面前。科學給了這個已死的軀殼新的生命，為了自由他奮力掙扎，幼稚而慘烈。
Frankenstein, reimagined as a play by the UK’s Royal National Theatre, bucks tradition by focusing on the monster, rather than the man who created him.
英國國家劇院改編的新版《科學怪人》一改傳統，將故事的主線鎖定在怪物而不是創造怪物的弗蘭肯斯坦身上。
This 2011 production, starring Benedict Cumberbatch, was shown at the China Film Archives last month, as part of the 2015 UK-China Year of Cultural Exchange.
作為2015年中英文化交流年的活動之一，這部2011年出品，由本尼迪克特•康伯巴奇主演的戲劇8月22、23日在中國電影資料館放映。
As directed by Danny Boyle (Trainspotting, Slumdog Millionaire), the play lashes out against previous adaptations of Frankenstein that depict the Creature as a lumbering oaf. No, this Creature is truly a thinking man’s mirror.
本劇的導演是曾經執導過《猜火車》、《貧民窟的百萬富翁》的丹尼•博伊爾（Danny Boyle）。以往的改編版通常將怪物描繪成遲鈍的傻子，而這一版的《科學怪人》突破性地將怪物設定成一面思考者的鏡子。
While Boyle’s version hews more closely to Mary Shelley’s original horror novel, it differs in one significant aspect. It is the monster – not his creator, Dr Frankenstein – who recounts this sorrowful tale.
博伊爾在忠實於瑪麗•雪萊（Mary Shelley）原著的基礎上，對一個重要的地方做了改動——用怪物的視角取代他的創造者弗蘭肯斯坦博士的，來講述這個悲慘的故事。
In many ways, this is an unconventional underdog story. Frankenstein’s Creature is born with an innocent mind but a body so hideous that it brings out the worst in humanity. Can he resist the corrupting influences around him?
從很多方面看，這都是一個非傳統的受壓迫者反抗的故事。弗蘭肯斯坦的怪物生性純良，但卻長著一張面目可憎的臉。這激發了他最醜惡的人性。他能抵擋住周遭環境對自己的腐蝕嗎？
It’s a battle of nature versus nurture, with a scientific twist. The play delves into questions of whether man can 「play god」, by creating life through science.
這是「先天論」 和 「後天論」在科學語境中的博弈。劇中探討了一個問題：人類是否能利用科學創造生命來扮演操縱一切的上帝角色。
In a touch of inspired casting, Frankenstein brings Cumberbatch together with his own mirror, actor Jonny Lee Miller. Both have previously portrayed the literary genius Sherlock Holmes, in Sherlock and Elementary respectively.
《科學怪人》的演員陣容極富創造力，也把卷福和他的「鏡子」——約翰尼•李•米勒聯繫在了一起。兩人此前分別在《神探夏洛克》和《福爾摩斯：基本演繹法》中扮演過天才夏洛克•福爾摩斯。
For the version shown in cinemas, Miller played the Creature while Cumberbatch embodied Dr Frankenstein – though they were known for switching roles throughout the play’s London run.
在影院版中，米勒扮演怪物，卷福扮演弗蘭肯斯坦博士，而在之前倫敦演出時兩人互換角色也是該劇的一大特色。
Unfortunately, the Creature ends up being the most developed character in the entire play. Part of the problem is the simplistic nature of the script.
不幸的是，怪物成了全劇最豐滿、立體的角色。另外美中不足的就是劇本略顯單薄。
The play rips its motifs straight from the philosophy of Jean-Jacques Rousseau, who believed civilization was a corrosive influence. Nature is idolized, while characters like Dr Frankenstein who represent science and urbanity are depicted as uniformly cruel.
該劇借鑑了哲學家讓•雅克•盧梭（Jean-Jacques Rousseau）的思想，他認為文明會腐蝕人性。自然被崇拜，而像弗蘭肯斯坦這樣代表科學和文雅的人被描繪得極端冷酷。
The script does approach many compelling themes – questions of class, slavery, prejudice and scientific ethics are all included – but the play never delves deeply into any of them.
劇本觸及了許多引人深思的主題——等級問題、奴役、偏見和科學倫理。不過戲劇本身並沒有就任何一點進行深入探討。
With elements of steampunk, minimalism and interpretative dance, Boyle’s Frankenstein is ambitiously staged. If only its script had been more ambitious in its social commentary, this play might have brought Frankenstein’s monster alive for a new century.
博伊爾在《科學怪人》中運用了蒸汽朋克、極簡藝術和詮釋舞蹈等元素，顯示了他勃勃的舞臺雄心。不過如果劇本也有這樣的雄心，那麼這部劇或許能讓弗蘭肯斯坦的怪物更深入人心。
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