Title: Frankenstein in Love, or The Life of Death
Author: Clive Barker
Date of First Publication: December 1995
Place of Publication: Incarnations: Three Plays by Clive Barker (collection)
Type: Play
Characters: Victor Frankenstein
Themes: ANDROID; BYRONIC HERO; MAD SCIENTIST/MONSTER; RACE/POLITICS; SYMPATHETIC MONSTER
Critical Summary: The play is set inside a Latin American Country in the midst of a Marxist revolution. The leader of the revolution is El Coco, constructed out of various body parts by Dr. Frankenstein eight years before. El Coco, along with his faithful companion Cockatoo, infiltrate the palace of the dictatorial president, Garcia Heliodoro Perez. Perez hides from them inside of Dr. Frankenstein’s torture chamber and meets Veronique, another creature. El Coco and Cockatoo find Perez inside the chamber and tell him that they intend to try him for his crimes against humanity. In spite of this, El Coco allows Veronique to kill Perez who does so gladly. El Coco then tells her that she will have one night to murder who she wants before he institutes law as the new leader of the country.
El Coco then meets a palm reader and strangles her. Meanwhile Veronique has gone to a nearby church in search of the Cardinal, a friend and admirer of Frankenstein’s work. Veronique kills him with help of two other creatures, Follezou and Mattos. Follezou and Mattos then begin eating the Cardinals corpse. El Coco arrives in search of Dr. Frankenstein and shares a kiss with Veronique before she leaves. He then joins the others in eating the Cardinal’s corpse. Cockatoo discovers El Coco’s cannibalism and resolves to find a doctor who can cure him. El Coco meets Veronique in a graveyard and they both confess an undying love for each other. Cockatoo arrives and ensnares them. He then introduces them to a doctor he believes can help them, who they both instantly recognize as Dr. Frankenstein. When they reveal this information to Cockatoo, the Doctor drugs him before he can react. Frankenstein instructs his henchman Lazaro to flay El Coco and burn his body. He then leaves with Cockatoo and Veronique in tow.
A mortician, Dr. Fook, and a tailor, Befuzzio find El Coco’s skinless body. El Coco wakes up and, no longer concerned with law or reason, demands that Befuzzio construct him a new skin by murdering other people. He declares that he will get revenge on Frankenstein and create a new world of monsters. Frankenstein takes up residence in the president’s palace and reveals to Veronique that he plans to marry her. She hears that El Coco is alive and is able to convince Cockatoo to find him.
El Coco receives news about Veronique from Cockatoo. He arrives at the palace just before they are about to be wed. His arrival does not phase Frankenstein, who reveals to El Coco that if he tries to harm him he will only harm himself instead. This proves true when recoils in pain after trying to grab him. Enraged, Veronique tears open Frankenstein’s chest and pries his heart out. El Coco and Veronique embrace again while the palace erupts in flames around them.
In this take on Mary Shelly’s tale, the character El Coco takes on the role of the creature. He is a Byronic hero of questionable morality who resolves to get revenge after his attempts at being human fail. The setting of this play is markedly different from the original work with politics taking on a central role. Other themes that do come from Shelly’s work also make an appearance however, such as the idea of a posthuman world and a monster that is more sympathetic than his creator.
Administrative Notes: Jarrett Vargas, CSUF; Joshua Newman, CSUF (editing)