Dracula The Bloody Truth

After the success of last year’s hilarious spoof on The Hound of the Baskervilles in which three actors played all the parts, this year its Director, Keith Hargreaves has returned with a similar format on Bram Stoker’s Dracula, this time with four actors playing 40 parts between them. This is a writing collaboration between the same writer, John Nicholson and La Navet Bete (Dan Bianchi, Al Dunn, Nick Bunt and Matt Freeman), the Devon-based theatre company who specialise in this type of manic, slapstick storytelling.

Plotwise, which I have to say was so manically complex it was quite a task to fully follow, was narrated by Professor Van Helsing, who believes the novel was inaccurate and employs actors to help him stage what he regards as the true version of the story. However, Van Helsing has little patience for the behaviour of actors who are, to put it mildly, somewhat accident prone. The play is as much about things that can go wrong on stage to much hilarity, as it is about Bram Stoker’s classic novel.

The stage, under the management of Condoleezza Hankins, who must have been as manic as the actors at times with the amount of props and costume changes going on back stage she had to oversee, was a bare black painted stage with a boxed off area stage left containing a curtained entrance to the front, a door to the side and a rear exit off stage. There were entrances left and right via the centre and a wardrobe to one side which also served as an entrance and to stage right a bed stored upright against the side wall. Construction was by Kevin Beirne, Tim Murden, Paul Robbins, Sam Kingstone and Gerry Stafford. A nice touch to bring Condoleezza on for the final bow, she certainly deserved it.

Lighting and sound by Flic Jones and Mark Luckin respectively were very integral to the comedy of the show as a series of ‘late,’ ‘early’ and ‘missed’ cues were brilliantly executed as they got as good a tongue lashing from Van Helsing as the actors did. All cued and miscued as required to perfection!

Costumes from suits to some very retro dresses, not to forget Dracula famous cape, were sourced by the Pinup girls. The many props sourced by Sue lander, Condoleezza Hankins and Stephanie Wisson, with wigs and hair by Susan Moore.

To pull this off you need actors at the top of their game and with these four you certainly had that. Keir Mulcahey is a class act, bringing us a very memorable, passionate character, (amongst many), as Professor Van Helsing with a highly amusing, angry European accent and facial expressions to match.

Joe Bygraves, who has had a busy year with Hound of The Baskervilles and Buddy in Elf to his credit is also a master of his craft playing a dozen different rolls, including a highly amusing woman. Just top draw acting.

Sebastian Goss is another in this class, bringing some fabulous facial expressions to his share of the various characters from the creepy Dracula to the coach driver with a squint in one eye.

And as for Katherine Kennedy, where did she come from? A last-minute replacement according to programme, she is more ballet dancer and burlesque performer than actor. Really? Living in this company she certainly held her own, with fabulous comic timing. All in all, a top-quality quartet. I look forward to seeing all four of them again!

This show had some highly memorable comedic moments, such as when the Professor accidently knocks himself out and the remaining three bring on a member of the audience, kit him out in Van Helsing’s hat, give him a copy of the script and get him to play the part. He certainly deserved the huge clap when finally relieved of the part by a very rude Van Helsing.

The cast certainly worked their socks off, you couldn’t fault them, and the execution of the comedy was sublime, but to be quite honest and probably my fault, I, and I think some of the audience, did struggle to grasp a lot of the script and where it was going or what it was trying to achieve. Probably my fault and maybe I need to see it more than once to get it.

Well done to Keith Hargraves, his topflight cast and crew for a highly amusing, well executed evening, with this very off the wall comedy. Keep it up, I look forward very much to see what they come up with next year..?

And thank you to the FOH staff,  Ian and Julie Poole and Duty Manager Janet Brown for your excellent hospitality.

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