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Wednesday 24 Sep 2014

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Frankenstein's Wedding... Live In Leeds: the Creature – David Harewood

The portrayal of this infamous character will be like nothing ever seen before. Since the fateful night of his "birth" the Creature has been living on the streets of Leeds. He is the bitter result of an experiment that went terribly wrong. Along with his horrific, painful and deteriorating scars, he was never expected to think, feel or to desire love.

Observing society from the shadows, he has learnt human ways – what is good and what is evil. He longs to be accepted, to experience human affection instead of continual rejection. He has just one hope, a deal he made with his creator. If Victor gives him a companion he will remain harmless. However, if he fails to deliver the Creature will destroy his every happiness.

What attracted you to Frankenstein's Wedding... Live In Leeds and specifically the role of the Creature?

"As soon as I saw the idea on paper, I knew I wanted to do it. It's so crazy! Combining so many different elements, live acting, dance, film and of course the large audience at home and at the performance was just too dazzling to turn down. It was also another opportunity to work with Colin Teague, the Creative Director and Fabian Wagner, Director of Photography.

"Having read the book, it was also a chance to do something original with the story. Since the original film the Creature has always been viewed as something evil and I think that has been a great shame.

"Shelley writes of a creature wanting to understand itself, wanting love and companionship but only finding hatred and rejection. In the book, he answers these questions by reading and educating himself and we try to show this in our version. He only becomes a 'monster' when he treated like one."

You have played a variety of roles as an actor. Do you think that the demands of the Creature's character will be more challenging?

"My challenges playing the Creature were pretty basic really. How does he sound, how does he move – again in the films, he's a lumbering giant but in the book he possess superhuman strength and is able to climb steep ravines with ease, so physically I didn't want to replicate the Hollywood 'monster'.

"We wanted to make him very much an athlete but with the innocence of new-born who is not fully in command of his strength and capabilities."

David Harewood is known for various acting roles, including Captain Poison in the film Blood Diamond and Nelson Mandela in the 91Èȱ¬'s Mrs Mandela. He also appeared in the special Doctor Who Story: The End Of Time.

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