Slumdog director Danny Boyle returns to Mumbai, not with a film, but in a unique experiment of stage and screen. His recent award-winning play, Frankenstein, which he wanted to make for the last 20 years, will be screened before an audience at the NCPA this fortnight

Danny Boyle wanted to adapt Mary Shelley's book into a play 20 years ago. His version was to stick closer to the book in comparison with the many movie adaptations, giving the Creature a voice, instead of robbing it of one. The play, however, will not be performed in Mumbai, but using National Theatre's unique NT Live facility, will be shown through a digital recording. In this initiative, a stage director works closely with the camera director and when the play is being recorded, the audience pays a reduced ticket price. The cameras, often five or six, are then allowed to shoot it in a dynamic way, taking the viewer to the best seats in the house, using tracking shots and even a crane. In an email interview with Sunday MiDDAY, David Sabel, Head of Digital Media and Producer, National Theatre Live, talks about Frankenstein and how a play can be performed in front of a camera.


During a rehearsal of the play, a scene where the creature
has just been created.

Can you describe the manner in which plays are filmed?
We do two full camera rehearsals without an audience and ensure that the stage director works very closely with the camera director. Most importantly, we give complete flexibility to cameras in the auditorium. The audience that comes for the broadcast pays a reduced ticket price and is aware that cameras will be present -- this allows us to shoot it in a much more dynamic way, taking you to the best seats in the house, using tracking shots or, for example, a crane. We generally use five to six cameras to capture the production.
Lighting is adjusted to preserve the integrity of the design and help it work on camera, but the production is essentially unchanged. An experienced live, multi-camera director works with a close-knit team. We bring in needed external expertise, but the broadcasts are produced in-house so the NT stays very close to the production.u00a0 Everything is filmed in high definition and the sound is captured in 5.1 cinema surround sound.