Benedict Cumberbatch Introduces Frankenstein | National Theatre at Home

Stream on National Theatre at Home at www.ntathome.c... and www.ntathome.c...
'We have a massive capacity for love.' Benedict Cumberbatch recorded a special message for fans, ahead of the National Theatre at Home stream of the timeless and thrilling stage show, Frankenstein. He alternates the role of Victor Frankenstein and the creature, with Jonny Lee Miller.
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You can watch both versions of Danny Boyle's monster hit, Frankenstein, which tells the story of a creature learning to inhabit the world, and a doctor's desire to control the world through science. Streaming now on National Theatre at Home.
#NationalTheatre #NationalTheatreLive #NationalTheatreAtHome #Frankenstein
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Thank you to the amazing artists who have allowed us to share Frankenstein in this way, during this unprecedented time, when so many theatre fans can't visit their local theatres.
At the National Theatre in London, we make world-class theatre that is entertaining, challenging and inspiring. And we make it for everyone.
National Theatre Live is National Theatre’s ground-breaking project to broadcast the best of British theatre to cinemas in the UK and internationally.
Frankenstein was filmed live on-stage in 2011 by National Theatre Live.

[@robertr798]

"The dangers of a male ego running rampant in the world, and how that behavior wreaks a terrible storm, a terrible danger." As an American, this is extremely timely....

[@Kvitka777]

Is a female ego any different? Asking for a friend. 😁

[@corvusdelicti8853]

Robert R: As an American on the side of decency and hopelessly embarrassed, I wholeheartedly agree with you.

[@wendycohen9038]

reeks = smells, wreaks = performs violence upon

[@robertr798]

Wendy Cohen Yes I know the difference. Surely you’ve experienced the disadvantages of autocorrect before. Have any comments on the point of my post?

[@kkilinahe]

Fellow American here. *fistbump from afar*

[@evamalyon2315]

I'm a drama student who loves classic literature and just books in general. Thank you for providing such an amazing service during these tough times. I get so excited to watch the next play you broadcast every week so I just wanted to thank you for bringing a little light to the lives of so many people. You are all fantastic!!

[@aminacapie-mills5622]

ayyyyyy Eva I watched it tooooooooooo

[@simplyshelbs16]

I am so thrilled to have the chance to see both versions of this play!

[@harriet8170]

“Sorry for waffling on” no SIR you could never waffle I’d listen to your voice all day

[@markpilla6842]

Thank you Benedict, Johnny, and the National Theatre at home for putting this online. I am so excited to sit down and Watch it twice with my wife.

[@ilanaalmeida5385]

I'll certainly enjoy watching it with my family at home. We thank all the crew and artists for giving us the opportunity to go to the theater even though we will miss the warmth of the performances and its environment.

[@sandramaribelmarinosanchez670]

Dearest Ben, an incredible actor, handsome and gentleman. Fantastic combination. And of course a great voice, as always. I hope, that everything, back to normal, very soon. God Bless the earth.

[@anamariacl3503]

I'm not native english speaker but I will watch this wonderful play and I as Benedict Cumberbach lover I will do my best to understand and enjoy this unique work. 👏👏👏

[@leadcoloredgirl0707]

You spoke from my hearth ♥️

[@benizdsouza4564]

Thank you National Theatre. Just the other day, I was viewing the Frankenstein trailer on your KZbin channel and was really wishing to see the whole play. Needless to say, you granted that!

[@mirellanor1497]

I saw both versions twice . Fantastic actors. Amazing production.

[@constancecampbell4610]

I am so looking forward to seeing both versions. Such a gift. I never dreamt I’d have this opportunity. Thanks to all who made this possible. Love to you, Benedict, and all those you love. Stay safe. ✌️💙

[@JeM130177]

Saw both versions of this in the cinema it's absolutely glorious! Can't wait to watch it again!

[@m0k0n4sama]

I'm so grateful for this opportunity.

[@JoolsVoiceOver]

We are not worthy......that was theeeeeee best example of the acting profession I have ever seen, you Sir are bloody amazing. 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

[@sandrab844]

I've seen it live and it was absolutely phenomenal! Unbelievable performances. You must see both.

[@rachelwarrilow4672]

Would you recommend for kids? 13 years old?

[@eck2x]

I’ve never clicked on a notif this fast. So excited!

[@hindyoussef7051]

Me toooooooooo

[@CEAC1975]

rivans likewise!

[@brookie6182]

Same. Lol.

[@marissasifre9026]

He is so amazing

[@paolopalmieri9740]

I've seen the play, truly fantastic, actors, set, music/sound, staging, everything, enjoy!

[@franciscojaviermartincurto9696]

From Madrid, I enjoyed the Play all time , THANKS !!!

[@a_diamond]

Thank you, Benedict Cumberbatch. It's such a personal little message. It's not to any one person in particular, but like he is talking to everyone as a friend. Nicely done. I hope to see it as it is streamed on KZbin.. stay safe!

[@a_diamond]

Seems like my post posted twice? Huh..

[@katebarton5548]

I love him he's the best actor ever

[@dwiputrisutanto1945]

How on earth does this man become hotter by the minute?

[@incantidapprodo6952]

I will watch it from Milan! Thank you

[@barbarascutt792]

I saw both versions when it was broadcasted in the cinemas. They were amazing! I found that each of you, Benedict and Johnny Lee Miller, brought nuances to each role you played with perfections.

[@raghav9o9]

Thank you sir

[@kissesfrxmtheheart]

Can’t wait to see the performance! I loved what you said about humans and our behavior, and also about the doctors own behavior

[@kan9056]

Thank you so much sir for being part of this brilliant and important peace.

[@imo7934]

Love anything and everything you choose to be involved in! That’s how I found the National Theater. (On this platform) ❤️👍🏻👏🏻

[@renekumar8290]

Young pups in the theatre world! That’s the benedict I know!

[@Nacho-Mamma]

When I saw that both amazing productions were available, I had to watch them back to back! And, I wept both times, as the creature professes his love for Victor when he thought Victor was dead. Of the plethora of versions of Frankenstein I have seen in my 55+ years, this production is the best! And, I have been wanting to see it for years! Thank you National Theatre, for sharing the wonderful production!

[@bellabuonomo4532]

The best actor in the whole fuckin world so far.

[@JnEricsonx]

So going to be watching both versions this week.

[@monymissp]

I enjoyed every single minute of the 2 versions!!! Magnificent!!! Greetings from Argentina!

[@marcialeal6376]

Hi benedict ! Frankenstein is going away... But I want to thank you for the invitation to watch this wonderful play. I would like to say I watched this performance, a zillion times, both version .I even saw both at the same time on two screens..but I could't choose the best. Both are fantastic. I Just had a preference for your creature. I don't no why...empathy is not explained. I hope one day to watch your performance in person. Thanks from Brasil..stay safe! 💕 💚💛💙💟 Sorry my english!

[@renekumar8290]

Petition for Jonny to do one!!!!!

[@xunae]

Thank you for sharing this! I watched it and thoroughly enjoyed the creature-centric story!

[@akirealamub]

I've seen it in the cinema 4 times, two times each versions. It's so good.

[@analu6581]

we love you sir

[@lillyvarsama9765]

I long to watch it! Much appreciated of your talent and effort!

[@christine-xs6lx]

Soooo excited !! A huge thank you from Russia 💜💜💜💜

[@allen3776]

Saw both versions. Each is unique in their interpretation. Can't say one better than the other, but enjoyed both versions

[@maeva5257]

So my headset is bass sensible. It's been shaking on my head the whole video. Also, thank you for putting the two plays online, I had required this!

[@juanjoseoterolourido5674]

Amazing..viva la literatura!!!!

[@schikhradze]

What if Benedict was every audio book's voice .. world would be better place... ❤

[@viviwil30]

I certainly enjoyed it, sir! Really excting. Bravo!

[@chantalehoule9002]

Just watched it and loooved it! Bravo!

[@blue7cat10]

It was so great! I saw the version with Benedict as the Creature 🎭

[@carinaas7053]

Definitely tunning in, already marked it on my calendar!! I'll finally get to see it!!!

[@lindaorourke9550]

An amazing production - nothing more needs to be said other than a must watch

[@martcaseyireland]

I watched it last night... 😳😳Amazeballs

[@magdalena.maldonadosalazar8314]

Eres un Actor,extraordinario.Te he visto,en varias peliculas,y siempre haces un trabajo,magnifico.I love you Benedict from Tarragona,Spain.👏👏👏👏👌.

[@Elle-mq8ij]

I could listen to Benedict read a cookbook quite dreamily...

[@retnavybrat]

I told someone ages ago that he could make the instruction manual for a curling iron sound sexy. 😁

[@elfenf3uer]

i am absolutely giddy with excitement

[@agustinaortigoza4218]

I can't wait 😍

[@leonorsuarezognio9177]

Muchísimas gracias por una actuación brillante y emocionante. Lo mejor que he podido ver en mi vida.

[@mindxcircus]

Upon playing the video with my 7.1 headphone on.... OH THE HOLY BASS IN HIS VOICE!!!!!! I am dizzy from the goodness for a while....

[@SierraRein]

URG it's May 7th but I guess here in NYC I missed the one with Cumberbatch as the Creature. Just watched Miller's Creature - fantastic. Hope the Cumberbatch/Creature one becomes available again.

[@Prestocorn]

Missed them both

[@shirleynitka5030]

he must be going stir crazy in isolation. Since he is not acting, those lines have really eased up on his forehead. He looks much younger.

[@scandinordic]

He might be enjoying this time his little family 😊

[@lizgilbey7478]

Benedict Cumberbatch is currently in New Zealand filming Thomas;Savage's novel The Power Of The Dog for acclaimed director Jane Campion. The hair and look is in character for the role he is playing. A character that is one of the most unforgettable villains of C20th American literature and is a book once read, never forgotten. Read it before the film comes out. Cover to cover, especially the last paragraph which is a revelation.

[@shirleynitka5030]

@@scandinordic if he is home. Last I heard, he may still be stuck in New Zealand. I hope thats not the case. BUT? why the beard & slick hair if he is home? Sophie is not a fan of the beard. He isnt either.

[@abcabc-oh9gc]

I've watched it and it's amazing. I highly recommend it.

[@Berger1616]

Esto es lo que entendí sin saber inglés " Benedict Cumberbatch" listo, es la mejor obra. Saludos desde Argentina ♥️🇦🇷😘

[@seraphinelouis1111]

What an astounding performance!!! DO NOT MISS THIS! YOU HAVE ONLY UNTIL FRIDAY, MAY 8TH AT 2PM- USA TIME TO SEE IT! POUNCE!

[@hermionemeares]

I love both show I thought you were fantastic

[@raghav9o9]

Yes I know sir

[@magsmcgowan1266]

Really looking forward to this one 🤓

[@shanetlewis2139]

thank you NT!

[@purplerose7318]

PLEASE KEEP THE BEARD 😍

[@maringal44]

What sad people disliked this video of delightful Benedict?

[@inessamaria2428]

can´t wait for it.

[@McInHeather]

I wrote my dissertation on this production to help portray my point of "how the perception of ugliness can create a villain" 😁

[@McInHeather]

@@juliav7971 because it's in the NT archives my university had membership to watch the live shows that were recorded!

[@deemura]

Oh so like how the old movies made villains all ugly?

[@McInHeather]

@@deemura it was more about how someone appearance makes them an outcast which in turn makes them behave in villanous tendencies as society rejects them :) but I certainly mentioned how in the past, many villains had disfigurement, scars, exaggerated facial features etc and why this may be!

[@deemura]

@@McInHeather yeah, my childhood was filled with mustache twirling villains. Now I'm interested, where can I read your dissertation?

[@McInHeather]

@@deemura it's on my laptop which is currently broken 😂 I cant get to a place to fix the screen atm :(

[@merveaydn1816]

Sen dünyanın en mükemmel adamısın!!

[@luslife7815]

Too bad I missed my chance to see this online. Is it available anywhere else to watch now? Would love to see it.

[@n.miikuu]

I missed it too 😭😭

[@danamicks7114]

Please post the role reversal!

[@marvellaelfreda3331]

Is it just me or is his voice very soothing

[@ShayTheBean]

I really wish I could see this

[@ruthmjcv3490]

b e a r d

[@thecinematicmind]

*Young pups in the theatre world*

[@cael1474]

Omg!!

[@anoja31]

😍

[@FilipinoGirl-xe9ub]

❤❤❤

[@sagustocox]

I really hope my daughter loves this one. She’s only in elementary school.

[@AdaSoto]

I've seen this and it's brilliant but there is a bit of violence, sex, nakedness, and murder. Mine is just seven so her dad and I will be watching after bed time but yours might be older and more aware. Still really worth seeing. Excellent production.

[@CucumberpatchAddict]

Theres a lot of violence in it though, you might want to skip some scenes

[@silviapassos2368]

💙

[@satan7733]

🥺🥺😍

[@hannahabbot4250]

Mr. Cumberbatch, you said in interview to Graham Norton in 2011, that in preparation to play the Creature in Frankenstein you went “to extraordinary schools and met some high spectrum autistic kids, and it was very (1) upsetting and very (2) inspiring as well, and the (3) people who look after them… the Creature is very much an (4) innocent, someone who is carried through life, [autistic people and their behaviour] was the major part of the preparation”. 1. Please, explain to me, what is it that is so upsetting about life of those children if they are in an “extraordinary school”? Somewhere, where they can be taught by professionals how to manage the world outside? Our lives are not a tragedy. 2. We’re also not objects of inspirational porn to the benefit of healthy people, so they could think “at least I’m not like them” or “she is having a life despite being autistic? How brave.” 3. Also you’re making people who help us, our parents, look heroic for doing their job, for putting up with us, for carrying their “burden”. That talk leads to us being killed by members of our families, and if the parent stands trial, the society’s sympathy is with them, and not with us. 4. This plays into a stereotype that we’re not really people, but eternal children, angelic and ethereal “Creatures”. Until we have a meltdown, until we become angry at being treated like an object. I gave you the benefit of the doubt, let that slide for the first time, because people like me were pointing it out, and I hoped you will learn. Until you repeated those words to The Irish Times 3 years later. And even more than that, in interview to Metro you said that all the crumbles of representation we were trying to find in someone like Sherlock or Alan Turing, ”it is just being lazy”. “I’ve met people with those conditions. It’s a real struggle all the time.” Here it is again. We do overcome some things, but our life is not a tragedy. “Then these people [Sherlock, Turing] pop up in my work and they’re sort of brilliant, and they on some levels almost offer false hope for the people who are going through the reality of it.” I peg your pardon, a “false hope”? False hope for what, being our own people? False hope for having a life, like an actual person and not as someone’s cross to carry? Have you really done enough preparation for the work? Otherwise you’d know, that there are as much of us in the world as redheads. I've been looking on and off for the last 6 years for some king of clarification, for an apology, that you've learned more and changed. And would you say those words to your fellow colleagues, Dan Harmon or Sir Anthony Hopkins? Sincerely, Anastasia, an autistic physically disabled young woman. P.S. I apologize for any mistakes; after all, English is my second language.

[@MimiVorosmarthy]

Asmr 💕💕💕💕💕

[@SAUNITRIES]

That facial hair though. ❤️

[@heathergittens3223]

Yeah. I hope he takes it off so I can see his adorable face.

[@nini2swagini]

When I watched Frankenstein in class we had the opportunity to watch both johnny lee miller and Benedict Cumberbatch as thecreature and as a class we thought that Benedict Cumberbatch portrayed Victor better than Lee Miller and Lee Miller portrayed a better creature. This is just our classes opinion, I think that everyone should watch both as they are different portrayals!

[@beanstaIkjack]

I saw it live because he's brilliant. I loved him as Dr Strange too

[@craigrichardson9022]

How do I watch this play ?

[@raghav9o9]

Hawking I know , Alan Turing machine I know

[@bellabuonomo4532]

PLEASE give us Hamlet thank you.

[@Slarti]

I watched the first 14 minutes and could not bear the Blackadder Style wide open leg actors sreaming and yelling for those 14 minutes.

[@jessyliz.8616]

I miss you man,but im glad to see you ok and great my Dr strange .

[@amythest14]

Pengwings

[@NastyDaddyWatson69]

😄

[@megthegoff]

I have wanted to see this play for years but never got the opportunity. I am so so excited that I'm finally getting to see it. Frankenstein is my favourite cultural phenomenon and with 2 incredible actors in the main roles I'm just so ready!

[@renekumar8290]

gallifreys girl both sherlocks are literally uniting and both fandoms are quaaaking!!!

[@nadine9142]

Same!

[@carolinedickinson5309]

@@nadine9142 me too!!!

[@IslesYankeeLady]

Make sure you watch both. They’re such an interesting contrast. And love to Naomie Harris who had both forces of nature to go up against! She’s so underrated.

[@nadine9142]

@@IslesYankeeLady Yes, I intend to see both!!

[@enriquemoranmartinez6706]

Benedict is such a good actor. This is a must watch.

[@retnavybrat]

Both versions of the play are supposed to be uploaded. Thursday's upload has Benedict as the creature and Friday's upload will have him as Dr. Frankenstein.

[@marie-genevievehuguin558]

I agree

[@mollyjoy4282]

@@retnavybrat Is there anywhere I could find the plays as I have been doing uni work this last week and missed them both 😢 I would love to be able to see them as Benedict Cumberbatch is such an amazing actor and undoubtedly such an amazing human being!

[@joltagegyronicthehedgehog4911]

I wish meet him he’s so talented

[@TheNetymags]

You don’t understand how amazing this is! I live in the middle of nowhere and do not have the opportunity to see theatre unless it’s on pbs! I’m so excited that this channel is providing these amazing shows for us! Thank you!

[@CucumberpatchAddict]

I will forever be amazed at how lucky this production was, that so many talents came together and did this extraordinary, unforgettable thing. Every word like an electric shock.

[@liastining4836]

AHHHHHHH and this is why he is my favorite actor you can tell he really understands the characters he plays and I strive to achieve that one day.

[@bluevelvet666]

I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS PLAY FOR YEARS. I FINALLY GET TO WATCH BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH AS THE CREATURE AND VICTOR FRANKENSTEIN. I'M SO EXCITED!!! 😆😆😆😆😆😆

[@marissasifre9026]

He is fabulous. Very very pleasant to listen to. That voice is smooth like buttah🧈