Dracula

As winter draws in, the nights gets longer and the days become darker, there’s nothing more appetising in theatre than scary stories and Dracula has to be the master of them all....

Meeting Taunton Thespians for the first time, I was intrigued as to how they may approach such an iconic story and whether it would be as deliciously chilling as I hoped.  Wow, did they deliver!!!

The play begins to the chilling tones of Marilyn Manson’s Cry Little Sister and the curtains open onto a superb set as Jonathan Harker arrives in Transylvania to complete business relating to Dracula’s estate. He is welcomed by the pale and imposing Vampyre himself, Count Dracula.  In response to Harker’s polite enquiry, Dracula relates the history of the house of Dracul, beginning with Prince Vlad and his tragic separation from his true love. As he weaves the tale, echos of the battles are heard in the castle. Harker later updates his journal, noting how unnatural the Count seems.

The left half of the stage lights up to reveal Mina, also writing her journal. We learn that Harker was sent to Transylvania in place of a colleague who had contracted a mysterious disease on his last visit to Castle.

Since Harker had postponed their wedding to complete the transactions, she has invited a friend to distract her until life resumes as planned. The vivacious Lucy is more than up to the task and the two engage in a chat about men, Mina’s worries and Lucy’s marriage prospects.

As the famous story unfolds, Jonathan soon realises he is being held prisoner at the castle. Dracula sees and recognises his picture of Mina as an incarnation of Elizabet, his long lost love. Dracula throws Jonathan to his terrifying wives and heads to London to declare war on Jonathans family and friends in his bid to get to Mina. Jonathan escapes and joins his friends in the struggle to save Mina, also recruiting the services of Dr Van Helsing -  a gloriously flamboyant scientist with the inside track on Vampires and how to destroy them.

This was a beautifully constructed show, from the flowing and engaging script, to the gloriously gothic set and dressing. The attention to detail was evident in every part of the show – the lighting and sound were flawless as was the scoring of the show. The special effects of snow, what you would imagine to be the freezing fog of the undead,  the chilling sounds of the wolves, the maritime storm were superbly scary and, as a director, Jo Case’s obvious relish of the story and her determination not to miss a trick paid dividends.

The mortals’ costumes were well considered and period-appropriate offering a great insight into the time – the Count was great but the Brides of Dracula were wild – a really creative job by Costumes.  I also felt the makeup was beautifully managed and added yet more enhancement to the look of the show.

The show begins with Jonathan and Dracula, at great pace, but it’s true to say that the tension and energy only built as the show darkens. At the beginning too, Mina and Lucy provide some lovely lighter moments as their girlish friendship has them giggling over saucy pictures in the style of two girls looking at Tiktok today.

Mina begins as a lovely, soft character, concerned with her relationship, the safety of her fiancé and friend but a new side of her character emerges as she begins to identify with her past life. The actress handled this very nicely and delivered a great performance. Lucy was played with vivacity and charm and, as she loses the battle with darkness, whether you know the story or not, it is still newly sad. 

The mortals around Jonathan and Mina, Holmwood, and Morris were nicely played and Doctor Seward was very authentic, particularly as he chronicles his struggle to understand what’s happening to Reinfield.

Jonathan Harker was a lovely performance, the actor worked very well, opening the show and his scenes at the castle were highly charged and delectably disturbing. Van Helsing was a lovely choice of casting – charismatic and strong, she was a fresh and inspired interpretation of this character.

Reinfield did an exceptional job, falling short of overdoing the “crazy”, his performance was visceral – he was inside the head of this tragically interrupted life and the result was a very believably,  pitiful and corrupted soul. 

Special bouquets should also be handed to the macabre brides of Dracula – in so many of the films these are simply window dressing, but these apparitions were played beautifully and very much a unit in their own right – nice job ladies!

And what can I say about the Count himself? What a challenge to play such an iconic role – this actor absolutely smashed it. From the crazed laughter at the beginning  to the moment where Harker gets too close and he is on him like a wild animal, the once great man rediscovering purpose as he moves across water to find Mina, the gentle stranger reacquainting himself with his lost love and the terrifying monster, robbing Lucy of her last breath. This was a rounded, faceted character and an excellent performance.

From beginning to end this show absolutely held its audience in thrall – congratulations, guys, you knocked this out of the park!!

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