’Slumdog’ director to stage play of ’Frankenstein’

Nicholas Hytner, the director of the National Theatre in London, revealed that Boyle will make his debut at the venue by directing a play.

LONDON, January 21, 2010 (AFP) - Danny Boyle, the British director of Oscar-winning "Slumdog Millionaire", is to direct a stage play adaptation of "Frankenstein", it was announced on Thursday.

Nicholas Hytner, the director of the National Theatre in London, revealed that Boyle will make his debut at the venue by directing a play based on the novel by Mary Shelley later this year.

Hytner said the Scot, who began his career at London's Royal Court and at the Royal Shakespeare Company, was returning to his first love after being "distracted" by the film world.

"Danny first talked about this eight years ago and it has taken him eight years. He said he was coming back to the theatre after being distracted by 15 years of film-making," Hytner said.

Boyle, who also directed cult film "Trainspotting", intends to make playwright Nick Dear's new adaptation of "Frankenstein" a "large-scale and theatrically and visually ambitious stage production", Hytner added.

"He is as comfortable here in the theatre as he is holding his camera in the slums of Mumbai," the director said.

"He has a very particular take on the material by Shelley, but it will be exciting to see what has been altered by what he has discovered about himself through 15 years of film-making."