NEW life is being breathed into a Gothic horror classic.

Frankenstein has been rewritten by Howard Coggins and Stu McLoughlin of Living Spit, and starts its run at Salisbury Playhouse on Thursday.

The pair are no strangers to the city stage, having performed three shows in The Salberg, including Six Wives of Henry VIII and Adolf and Winston.

They say they had always floated the idea of doing Frankenstein and were inspired after seeing a performance held in a crypt under a Bristol church.

“We have paid lip service to all the gothic elements,” explains Stu. “But anyone that has read the Mary Shelley book will know there are things in it that are so ridiculous and we’ve taken them to the next level really. Things like Victor falls in love with and marries his sister, they are adopted but it is still strange, as a device in a novel it is an odd choice.

“Those kind of things lend themselves to absurd writing, which is our raison d’etre and that it what we like to do.

"It’s a plot that is loose enough that it allows us to have fun with the two central characters, which we thought was perfect for us.”

Audiences can expect an evening of jokes and music with some “ridiculous lyrics”, “jokes and silliness”.

Howard says: “The most important thing about our show is that they are funny but we also like to tell a good story.

“We like to surprise the audience and defy their expectations.”

This is the first time Living Spit have performed on the Playhouse’s main stage.

“We are massively excited [to be performing on the main stage],” says Howard. “What is great is we have been able to bump up the production.

"What we normally do is go and buy costumes from charity shops and make props out of cardboard but now we can say we would like a bed with a scrolling scene on the back and they say we can do that. We’ve got a bigger toy box [to play with].”

Stu continues: “It is quite scary, it will be the biggest stage we as a company have ever been on. We’ve each as actors worked on quite big stages but to put our own work on a big stage it will be the first time.”

Frankenstein is a co-production with Salisbury Playhouse and brings together elements of Mary Shelley’s book and the films.

“Our story, it is much more a human story. Hopefully by the end people will feel something for both characters and feel they don’t really know who they are rooting for,” says Howard.

“The main thing to take away is that it is an entertaining night out.”

Frankenstein runs until November 5 and is suitable for those aged 14 and older.

For tickets call the box office on 01722 320 333 or go to salisburyplayhouse.com