"I think we all have a fear of the unknown" - Frankenstein on stage in Crawley

One thing is working on new writing, the other is working on adaptations of the classics, and it's that second that he gets the chance to do when he joins the cast of Frankenstein, presented in a new version in a home-produced production at The Hawth in Crawley.

Performances are from October 20-22, with Samuel taking two roles – first as a mentor to Frankenstein and then as the blind man in a crucial moment in the story. The blind man welcomes in Frankenstein's creation for the simple reason that he cannot see him as he is…

When Captain Walton rescues a stranger from the icefields of the Arctic little does he know who and what he has invited aboard his ship. Victor Frankenstein is a gifted scientist wishing to defy death, to beat it, to banish the fear of it from life. In pursuing his dream, though, he gives life to a hideous creature, who will destroy Frankenstein’s world and everyone he loves unless Victor can stop him.

“What really appealed to me about doing this,” Samuel says, “is that mix between professional and community. It is a real opportunity for the community to learn and also for the professionals to learn as well, and I'm really, really happy with this version.

“It is always interesting to adapt the classics. When they are so familiar, I think you need to try to see something new especially when they are part of that great canon. It's beautiful to see some new life being breathed into it. It's a reasonably small cast but what is great is that the story is quite clear. I'm trying to think of better words than less dense but in a way what we're giving people is a story that is less dense and that may be more expressive for younger people.

“I always love it when people put horror or sci-fi on the stage just because it's very exciting. I think we all have a fear of the unknown. And with the creature we all like to think how would we respond, how would we listen. You just don't know. You think you know on paper how you would react but it's like with any difference in people whether it's disability or different places they come from. You just don't know how you'll react even if on paper you're convinced that you would be comfortable.”

Samuel is from Australia and came across in 2017 for drama school: “I got offered a scholarship and it was for a really great drama school that I wanted to go to, the Central School of Speech and Drama, and I also like the structure of things over here. In Australia it's a lot more profit sharing but here with the Arts Council and many more production houses there is a lot more work and that was a big part of the appeal.

“And also the drama school I was at had a great reputation. I completed my training in 2020 in the midst of the pandemic which wasn't great timing but it was interesting because you're only a small environment at the drama school and you think that that is everything that matters but when you start working, particularly at a time of the pandemic, I do think you are able to prioritise what really matters to you and realise the things that you really want to do, one of which is to work on adaptations of the big classics, and the other is to work on new writing.”

But in the meantime in November Samuel’s looking forward to his first trip back to Australia since 2018.