Presumption; or, the Fate of Frankenstein

Presumption; or, the Fate of Frankenstein is an 1823 play in three acts by Richard Brinsley Peake based on the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. It is the first recorded theatrical adaptation of the novel and had 37 performances during its original run. It was revived at the English Opera House until at least 1850.

Because Charles II had only awarded royal patents allowing for the staging of plays to the "Theatres Royal" (the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane and the Royal Opera House at Covent Garden) all the other theatres, even in 1823, could only perform melodramas, burlesque, pantomimes, puppet theatre, musical entertainments, and spectacles. This meant that Peake's Presumption had to include music, pantomime and spectacle in order for it legally to be staged. Thus, the play had songs that the Creature could react to, pantomime as the Creature was mute and spectacle in the form of an avalanche in the finale. The drama opened on Monday, 28 July 1823, at the head of a programme that included two farces, The Rival Soldiers and Sharp and Flat. In its original form the play ran for thirty-seven performances at the English Opera House during a summer season that lasted for three months.

The play was performed in New York City in January 1825, and at the Porte St. Martin in Paris in 1826 - on both occasions with great success. In the meantime, support for Presumption in London continued through to 1824 when it was performed three times at the Theatre Royal in Covent Garden. The 1824 performances were presented with a different cast with the exception of T. P. Cooke and Robert Keeley, who continued in their roles from the previous year. The play was performed for several evenings in 1827, with William Bennett as Frankenstein, Richard John O. Smith as the Creature, and Keeley as Fritz. The English Opera House occasionally revived Presumption as an afterpiece until at least 1850.

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