The Victorian splendour of Guildford’s St Nicolas’ Church is the venue for the Guildford Shakespeare Company’s production of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, which runs until November 8.

Director Caroline Devlin and the company worked with artificial intelligence consultant Chris Kissack to explore parallels between Shelley’s 1818 novel and the current understanding of artificial intelligence, its application and where it might lead.

Caroline said: “In approaching the adaptation, I was struck - and horrified - by how absolutely Mary Shelley’s vision has been realised by 2025. There is little to change, adapt or even censor.

“How an 18-year-old could understand and interpret the fears of a generation - industrialisation, ecological disaster, the elite abusing power, humanity careering down a dark and irreversible path to destruction - is truly mesmerising.

“I’ve striven to keep absolutely to her story, the only difference being what was 200 years ago a fantastical, gothic imagining is for us now a fearful reality, the consequences alarmingly real.

“My driver in this adaptation has been to honour Mary’s story, letting her step into our time and say ‘I told you so’.”

Shelley’s novel follows Victor Frankenstein as he attempts to create a super-being, less fallible than humans, from inanimate body parts.

But when his experiment fails to live up to his ambition and he realises the horror of his creation, Frankenstein abandons his project to its fate, triggering a terrifying chain of events engulfing him, his family and possibly even humanity itself.

The production features three actors - Samuel Collings (Victor Frankenstein), Daniel Scott-Smith (The Creature) and Natasha Bain (Walton plus eight other characters).

Guildford Shakespeare Company co-founder Matt Pinches said: “The combination of Shelley’s masterpiece with the application of 21st-century artificial intelligence promises an edge of your seat ride in a beautiful and evocative venue.”

For tickets, priced from £6 to £29.50, visit guildford-shakespeare-company.co.uk/tickets/