In this well-excavated catacomb of literary, stage and screen vampirism, what fresh blood can Blackeyed Theatre possibly draw? Tim Christian went under the cover of Darkness to the Grand Theatre to find out.
Dracula. A name so potent in the public psyche that it cannot help but conjure a particular image in the mind – likely that of slicked-back hair, bloodshot eyes, pointed fangs and a long dark cloak.
Arguably the most recognisable name in horror history, Dracula has spooked, scared and delighted fans since Bram Stoker’s penned his novel in 1897 and with its countless adaptations for stage and screen since. But it’s the iconic performances by Bela Lugosi in 1931 and Christopher Lee in the 1958 film adaptation that have seared themselves into our collective consciousness. So much so that, for many people, these are the definitive versions, above Stoker’s original literary creation, and set the archetype for vampires in popular culture ever since.
Having said that, there has been some variety among the versions of this venerable vampiric villain. The 1992 Francis Ford Coppola film featured a lush, dream-like setting and a scenery-chewing performance by Gary Oldman. It recast the story as a tale of love that persevered across centuries, and over the years there have been any number of reinventions of the vampire myth, playing with the formula and portraying Dracula and vampires as anything from shapeshifting, feral, bloodthirsty beasts to impossibly slick, sulky, stylish (and sparkly) teenagers.
Now the Blackeyed Theatre Company realises its own vision of this classic text, marking the centenary of Dracula as a stage show by touring their adaptation across the UK, including playing over several nights at Blackpool Grand Theatre.
In this well-excavated catacomb of literary, stage and screen vampirism, what fresh blood can they possibly draw? I headed down to the Grand on opening night to find out.
I’ve spent spooky season preparing myself for this play by re-reading the original novel and cramming as many film adaptations as I could reasonably manage, so at this point I’m full to brimming with Dracula thoughts and ready for more.
The Victorian splendour of the Grand Theatre provided the perfect backdrop of the evening. Opening in 1894, just a few years before the release of Stoker’s book, its contemporary gaudy baroque stylings are oddly complimentary to the gothic matter at hand. We made our way to our seats, getting a first glimpse of the simplistic stage setting of some wooden scaffolding, with some low walls and a few steps that – along with some portable stage props – would make up the background for each of the various settings visited during the course of the story. We settled in, the lights dimmed to a gloomy darkness and the play began.
The play utilised a smart combination of the book’s epistolary form of letters, newspaper articles and diary entries, blended into narration and dialogue.
The cast of six actors came out with a song, briefly making me wonder if would be a musical adaption (each to their own, but not especially my scene) but song, while present, is only used sparingly and to great effect throughout the play. Then a repeated refrain cribbed from lines of the book tell us “There are such things as vampires” and describe some of their attributes. This format would become a litany to mark the beginning and end of chapters, focussing on different elements each time, highlighting and foreshadowing pertinent aspects of vampire lore in each chapter.
The play itself utilised a smart combination of the book’s epistolary form of letters, newspaper articles and diary entries, blended into narration and dialogue, and delivered between and across each of the cast and characters. Indeed, one of the most impressive aspects of the entire play is the elegant choreography and never-ending motion of quick costume changes, accent switches, multiple locations, the sparing but effective use of sounds and lighting, and especially movement of stage props, that is so continuous that at times it almost becomes a dance.
The relatively bulky dialogue and exposition of the novel is trimmed down to keep the pace going, but keeping the main events sufficiently preserved to make it easy to follow. Great credit must be given to the cast. Despite their small number and multiple roles that each of them play, the artful use of costume, voice and context means that it is never difficult to tell which character is being portrayed at any given time, even when switching mid-scene.
Thematically, this Dracula muddies some of the waters of the seemingly simple good vs evil telling of the story. Part of what this adaptation brings to the classic story is a tweaked awareness of topics that we would recognise with a modern eye, but without clumsily trampling over the text. Subjects such as colonialist violence, matrimonial and medical misogyny, and a nascent suffragette movement all make appearances, but in a fashion that still sits well with the setting and never feeling like an anachronistic imposition.
Although Dracula himself never makes any claim to be virtuous (his goal is, as he states, to bring the world into darkness with him), he does accuse his hunters of hypocrisy, pointing to the inhumanity of the society they are so desperate to uphold and asking if he is really so monstrous in comparison. He describes his own existence as a freedom that he offers to his victims. Again, although never strongly pushed to the fore, the question of ‘what *is* a monster?’ is prevalent throughout. In this way, that chanted refrain in each chapter, “There are such things as vampires” evolves from informing the audience into becoming a warning, and then by the end of the tale, an accusation.
At the fall of the curtain I was very impressed with the slick blend of dialogue, movement and character that kept a well-paced story moving at all times without getting jumbled or losing its way. The minimalist presentation perhaps loses some opportunity to provide real scares, but does deliver a continual brooding atmosphere (particular shout-out to the chapter on the Demeter, which makes the most of the lighting and stage direction, and is by far the most classically spooky section of the play) and a sense of fear and urgency amongst the characters themselves.
Diary, November 7th, 2024: Vampire-like, gorged on lore and resting in the soil of my homeland, I now sit and consider Blackeyed Theatre’s Dracula and can say it may sit proudly amongst the many iterations of this literary and horror classic.
Dracula is at the Grand Theatre until 9th November, tickets here.
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