Newly discovered Shakespeare folio reveals lost play 'Dracula vs. Frankenstein' - The Beaverton

Newly discovered Shakespeare folio reveals lost play ‘Dracula vs. Frankenstein’

Stratford, England – Shakespeare Birthplace Trust archivists today announced their discovery of a lost Shakespeare folio for a play entitled “Dracula vs. Frankenstein.”

Natasha Cartwright, a Cambridge University scholar of Shakespeare’s later works, was shocked by the discovery. “We all know that Shakespeare is credited with the invention of hundreds of words, but to think that he also invented the original characters of Frankenstein and Count Dracula over two centuries before Mary Shelley’s and Bram Stoker’s novels, and to have the foresight to have them face off in what he calls a ‘Creature Double Feature for the Ages’ is truly quite remarkable.”

Cartwright affirmed the document’s authenticity and pushed back against the notion that the play could be a hoax. She points to results from carbon dating and handwriting analysis which are consistent with other verifiably authentic documents. “Sure, the play is riddled with spelling and conjugation errors that may look like a modern writer’s poor attempt at mimicry, but a lot of what we understand to be Shakespeare’s work was actually compiled later by his contemporaries, who would have fixed these mistakes.” She also believes that the mistakes and apparent inconsistencies could be explained by the fact that Shakespeare was likely drunk when he wrote the play, as the folio is heavily stained with beer and ale. 

The five act play tells the story of Dracula and Frankenstein’s sordid romance that turns sour after Dracula catches Frankenstein having an affair with a werewolf. The folio is also complete with extensive annotations by the playwright. “Frankenstein is the monster and not the guy who made the monster,” reads one at the beginning of Act 1, Scene 2. “The guy who made Frankenstein is named something else and he named the monster Frankenstein because that’s a scary sounding name.”

Cartwright says that the play is a stark departure from Shakespeare’s other work, as it is written entirely in prose. Whereas his other plays contain moving verses about the nature of love and loss, with this play Shakespeare says he was completely disinterested in exploring any such themes. “This one is just about monsters. It’s not a metaphor for class or religious divide, I just wanted to write a fun play about a Dracula versusing a Frankenstein that you could enjoy without having to think too hard, like if you had a long week at work,” reads his introduction. Despite these differences, Shakespeare continues his tradition of word invention, as this play contains the earliest written records of the words ‘piss’, ‘shit’, ‘fuck’, ‘jizz’, and ‘cumshot’.

Famed Shakespearean actors are already clamouring for the titular roles. Dame Judi Dench announced her plans to come out of retirement to originate the role of Frankenstein. “I swear to god if they give it to Pat[rick Stewart] the new Globe Theatre will burn down all over again,” Dench told reporters. 

Productions of this new play are proving to be quite the challenge. Sir Trevor Nunn is directing a production of “Dracula vs. Frankenstein” in London’s West End, and says that “The extensive special effects and pyrotechnics that Shakespeare specifies in the script really push the limits of what is safe to produce in front of a live audience, not to mention the extensive full frontal nudity and graphic sex scenes”.