The horror of existence: review of Monstress at the Vertigo Theatre
By Laura Beldor, March 2 2026—
Content Warning: This article contains mentions of abuse and suicide
From Jan. 17 to Feb. 15 2026, Vertigo Theatre put on a production of Monstress, as part of their 2025/2026 season. The two-woman show is a hauntingly beautiful Frankenstein reimagining that tackles themes of life, death, morality and the danger of unchecked ambition.
Often hailed as the “first science fiction novel,” Mary Shelly’s gothic masterpiece Frankenstein, has been retold in numerous ways through various forms of media, with Frankenstein’s “Creature” being one of the most iconic literary monsters. In many iterations of the story, the creation of the Creature is often portrayed as an act of defiance against nature, particularly a rejection of the female role in creation. Monstress, created by playwright Trevor Schmidt, inverts this idea by having both the Doctor and Creature be women, creating a story centred around the complex connection between the two female characters.
The play begins with the Doctor, played by Sydney Williams, sharing her life story with the audience, explaining how she is a brilliant scientist who was pushed out of academia for her unethical experiments. She describes how she has been given a chance at redemption when a wealthy man promises to pay her handsomely in exchange for the Doctor using her talents to bring his daughter back from the dead. Lying on a surgical table during this monologue is the nude body of the aforementioned dead girl, Lydia Chartreuse, played by Julia Van Dam.
The audience gets its first taste of the eerie yet captivating nature of the show through the set design of the doctor’s practice. The design of the lab is visually striking; seemingly watching the audience from a back wall is a life-size mural of Leonardo Da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man, made in the visage of Lydia Chartreuse. Looming above the table where the body lies is the device used to give life, made from various red scissors hanging from wires.
After debating the moral implications of reanimation, the Doctor goes ahead and brings Lydia back to life. Thus begins the tumultuous relationship between Lydia and the Doctor, which constantly oscillates between mother and daughter, and captor and creature. This intense connection that the two women share is accentuated through the production’s lighting and sound choices. The use of red, blue and purple light to illuminate the stage emphasizes the extreme emotions experienced by both characters throughout the play. Suspense and dread are generated through the various audio effects utilized throughout the show, such as disembodied voices and the nauseating sound of the cracking of bones.
Along with their relationship, the plot of the play focuses on the mystery of Lydia Chartreuse’s life before her death. After being revived, Lydia is a blank slate, having no memories of her life before her death. As the Doctor attempts to draw out her old memories, there are hints that there is something sinister hiding within the girl’s past. As the story continues, the Doctor is caught between her devotion to Lydia Chartreuse, and the promise of being rewarded for her efforts.
It is finally revealed that Lydia Chatruse’s cause of death was suicide, her attempt to escape the cruelty of her father. When she finds out the Doctor plans on leaving her with her abuser once again, Lydia decides to take her own life. Deciding to violate the laws of nature once again, the Doctor decides to bring Lydia Chartreuse back to life for a second time. The play concludes with
the girl’s painful screams echoing throughout the theatre as she is brutally forced back to life.
Altogether, the story of Monstress explores the tragedy of living one’s life without agency. Both the Doctor and Lydia Chartreuse are forced to live at the mercy of others, and because of this, the two women go to extremes to exert control over their own existence. Audiences are left to ponder what truly makes a monster: the grotesqueness of death or the suffering involved with life.