The first stage adaptation of Frankenstein was performed in 1823. Richard Brinsley Peake’s play, Presumption; or, the Fate of Frankenstein, opened at London’s English Opera House on 28 July 1823.
Presumption was a loose, melodramatic adaptation of Mary Shelley’s 1818 novel. Its Creature was played by Thomas Potter Cooke and was presented as mute, so the actor’s expressive movement and stage spectacle carried much of the role. The production also introduced Fritz, Frankenstein’s servant, an early predecessor of the familiar Igor character.
The play became a major theatrical success, running 37 times during its 1823 West End season. Its popularity helped prompt a new English edition of Shelley’s novel later that year. Shelley herself attended a performance on 29 August 1823 and wrote that the success made her “famous.” The dates 1826 and 1831 refer to later adaptations or editions, not the first recorded stage production.