With echoes of Rocky Horror and a slew of cardboard props, this (almost) solo show from Tom Fox promises an entertaining take on Mary Shelley’s classic story. Expect powerful songs, a dancing lightning bolt and a huge papier-mâché monster’s head… all delivered, as the opening number is warns us, “on a very small budget”.

For all that self-deprecation, we do get an enjoyable and reasonably faithful version of Frankenstein, with enough nods to the famous movie version to satisfy us too. In a series of musical scenes, we follow Victor Frankenstein through his early life and the creation of his “creature”, towards the famous showdown in the Arctic ice. Occasionally the narrative was a touch too hasty – after singing for some time about building a second creature, Victor changes his mind in a flash – but on the whole, it’s a story well told.

And the “on a budget” theme has huge potential, as 2022’s War Of The Worlds (On A Budget) proved. This time round, though, they don’t completely lean into it: there are some amusingly half-hearted costumes, but the set and props are actually quite respectable, at least by the standards of the Fringe. The interactions between Fox and his all-purpose assistant, played by Becky Owen-Fisher, feel undercooked too, without much of a story beyond the fact that he is (in character, of course) a bit unpleasant towards her.

But here’s the thing: if they ditched the schtick and took it more seriously as a musical, they’d be onto an artistic winner. The songs are powerful and catchy, with an exciting rock-opera vibe. There’s a more-than-decent eleven o’clock number that brings the characters together for a thrilling reprise, and a magnificent moment when Fox sings both sides of a touching duet in completely different styles. And, while a few of the melodies do grow repetitive, that’s nothing a little more development couldn’t fix.

Perhaps appropriately, then, this is a Frankenstein of a show: neither a fully-committed musical nor a whole-hearted parody, but a lumpy mix of both. There are some funny silly moments, but also some incongruously earnest themes, and at times it feels like the “budget” label is more an excuse for fumbles than a concept. It’s a shame it didn’t quite come together for me, but there are definitely some sparks of genius there waiting to come alive.