Blood and Ice
Blood and Ice by Liz Lochhead is a revised edition published by Nick Hern Books in 2009, featuring 64 pages in English. This play tells the story of Frankenstein’s creation, set against the backdrop of a summer house party in 1816 on the shores of Lake Geneva. The narrative revolves around Mary Shelley, her husband Percy Bysshe Shelley, her half-sister Claire, and Lord Byron, who engage in a challenge to write the most horrifying story, leading to the birth of one of the most celebrated Gothic novels.
Readers will find that Lochhead employs flashbacks and her signature poetic language to explore the connections between Mary Shelley’s tragic life and her literary creation. The play delves into themes of horror and the implications of creation, resonating with contemporary concerns about genetic experimentation. Originally performed at the Traverse Theatre in Edinburgh during the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 1982, this edition reflects on the enduring relevance of Shelley’s myth in today’s world.
Official synopsis Publisher
Renowned poet and dramatist Liz Lochhead tells the story of Frankenstein’s creation.
Summer 1816. A house party on the shores of Lake Geneva. Eighteen-year-old Mary and her husband Percy Bysshe Shelley, along with Mary’s half-sister Claire and the infamous Lord Byron, take part in a challenge to see who can write the most horrifying story. Mary’s contribution is to become one of the most celebrated Gothic novels of all time.
Using flashbacks and the rich poetic language for which she has become admired, Lochhead weaves a spider’s web of connections between Mary’s own tragic life and that of her literary monster.
Liz Lochhead’s play Blood and Ice was first performed at the Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh, as part of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in August 1982. It was later revived, in a revised version, by David McVicar at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 1988, and subsequently toured by McVicar’s company, Pen Name. It was again revived, in this published version, at the Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh, in October 2003.
As Lochhead writes in the Introduction to this revised version of the play, the myth created by Mary Shelley ‘remains potent for our nuclear age, our age of astonishment and unease at the fruits of perhaps-beyond-the-boundaries genetic experimentation’.
Author
Publisher
Topics
FAQ
What is “Blood and Ice” about?
Who is the author of “Blood and Ice”?
When was “Blood and Ice” published?
What is the ISBN for “Blood and Ice”?
What are the book details (language, pages, edition)?
