Theater: Beware, new monsters

At the Munich Volkstheater, Philipp Arnold turns “Frankenstein” into a magical tale about the magic and horror of artificial intelligence.

The monster twitches, the monster writhes. It raises its hands and imitates its two creators, Victor and Frankenstein, who are standing beside it. Mutual curiosity, an almost reverent moment. The monster looks. "Good God. What's wrong with you? Your features should have been beautiful," shrieks Frankenstein. The mood changes, and the monster runs off to murder a little boy. Shortly afterwards, the iron curtain falls, the lights in the Munich Volkstheater come on, and a voice politely announces: "I'm sorry. You've reached the end of your free trial." Sounds somehow familiar.