Nihilistic Optimism on Trampolines review | Theatre Works

It was on a dreary November night that we took our seats for Nihilistic Optimism on Trampolines, a loose reimagining of the origin of Frankenstein. Rather than setting it during the year without a summer in Switzerland, when Mary Shelley conceived her famous tale, this production places us in a contemporary trampoline play centre, Trampoline World. Here, the employees are each tasked by their supervisor with writing a ghost story.

The characters are named after people who spent time with Mary at the villa, so we have our Byron and Percy and Claire and John all present. Gabrielle Ward is committed as the protagonist, displaying her gradual obsession with completing the story and uncovering the more unsettling impulses behind creation. Eleanor Golding also leaves a mark as Byron, a senior supervisor at Trampoline World. He isn’t particularly integral or complex, but Golding brings an authenticity to him that elevates his scenes and makes him interesting to watch.