BATS and imaginative director Gordon Lawson have turned their talented, theatrical hands to many a drama down the years.

A tight outfit, worthy of a repertory company, Burneside Amateur Theatrical Society pushes at the boundaries of what's feasible at am-dram level on pretty much a shoestring budget. At its core are some good actors and in Gordon a director with vision and ambition.

Production by production they raise the bar. Particularly, their version three years ago of George Orwell's chilling portrayal of a dystopian society, 1984.

It had a real cinematic feel.

Frankenstein is this year's BATS spring production.

There are said to be more than 55 theatrical adaptations of Mary Shelley's landmark novel, which celebrates the 200th anniversary of its first publication.

This new version, adapted by John Ginman, blends gothic horror and moral parable as it explores the complexity of Frankenstein’s burning desire to play God and the idea of the Creature - more sinned against than sinning - as a sad victim of Frankenstein’s disastrous experiments.

Ginman's most original touch is to keep Captain Walton, the Arctic explorer who frames the narrative, on stage throughout. It is Walton who learns of the scientist's presumptuous attempt to play God by animating matter and bringing to life the Creature. By keeping Walton constantly visible, Ginman draws an intriguing parallel between him and Frankenstein.

Both embody the over reaching nature of male ambition: one wants to conquer the pole, the other to create new life. The key difference is that Frankenstein's obsession proves fatally destructive whereas Walton’s humanity makes him abandon his quest.

So, says Gordon, forget Boris Karloff with a bolt through his neck. Pass over Christopher Lee in gory Hammeresque versions.

What you get in this innovatively staged BATS production is neither shlock nor satire: "Instead it's a humane, intelligent retelling of the original story," adds Gordon, "in which much of the focus is on the plight of the obsessive scientist's sad creation, who becomes his alter ego and his nemesis."

In 2015, Adam Carruthers gave a fine performance as a thoughtful and considered Winston Smith, 1984's central character. And if that's anything to go by, he's definitely worth going to see in the role of Victor Frankenstein.

So too is Tracey Howson in the part of Elizabeth, Dan Hulme in the guise of Henry Clerval, and Thomas Miles playing Walton.

Other characters in the must-see production are played by Richard Sutton, Ron Milnes, Sue Cook and Luke Frazer.

As for the Creature, mystery surrounds who - or what - lies beneath.

Frankenstein runs at The Bryce, Burneside, from Thursday, May 31 until Saturday, June 2 (7.30pm).

Tickets are available online at www.batsburneside.co.uk or by telephone on 07792-777213.