Review by Daz Gale
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Bringing horror to the stage can be a tricky ask with shows often struggling to match the scare factor you may find in other mediums, and sometimes coming across more funny than scary, whether that was intended or not. How do you prevent that? By tapping straight into the comedy more than anything else – that is what has happened with Dracula, A Comedy of Terrors – a show that flies into London following a successful run off-Broadway. Would this comedy prove to be terrifyingly good or end up being a horror show?
The original story of Dracula was published by Bram Stoker in 1897 and has taken many forms in the many decades since in a character that has rather fittingly become immortal. You’ve not seen a Dracula quite like this before as Dracula, A Comedy of Terrors reimagines him as a Gen Z pansexual Count in the midst of an existential crisis. After meeting Jonathan, a meek English estate agent, the Count packs up his Transylvanian home to follow him back to his British country estate in a bid to sink his teeth into Jonathan’s fiancée, but will he have bitten off more than he can chew?
Any story involving Dracula has to have some degree of campness to it – have you SEEN some of the outfits he parades around in? Dracula, A Comedy of Terrors ramps that up drastically, with the Count serving a series of glamorous looks that plays up to the narcissism of the character, expertly realised through Tristan Raines’ costume design. The essence of the original story remains, but takes on a far more comical effect that almost descends into parody but finds its way to remain more of a comic reimagining instead. Think Mel Brooks’ Young Frankenstein and you get the idea as this show is very much in the same vein.
Written by Gordon Greenberg and Steve Rosen, Dracula, A Comedy Of Terrors has its sight set on making the audience laugh throughout, and it does that with a pretty good hit rate. Though not every joke landed and there were a few misfires at the beginning, when the show finds its feet, it offers a relentlessly funny approach to the story. A great use of puns, innuendo that ranges in subtlety and some fantastic one-liners means you are never far from the next laugh. A revision to the script from its off-Broadway run means there are some new references for British audiences… unless the Americans really are huge fans of a certain panelist on Loose Women.
Where Dracula truly thrives is in its physical comedy. The physicality in this production adds an extra level of comic brilliance, from the way Dracula (James Daly) moves with an overstated flourish to the varying ways characters carry themselves around the stage and some great gags involving props. These are all fabulously executed through Gordon Greenberg’s direction, using a terrifyingly good set design from Yvonne Gilbert and a spooky use of lighting from Ben Cracknell to create some top-tier effects, allowing for the quick appearance and disappearance of characters throughout.
An aspect this production does incredibly well is in its quick-changes. The hard-working cast of five take on a variety of roles with mere seconds to transition from one character to another. The most impressive use of this is the wickedly talented Dianne Pilkington who takes on Dr Westfield and Renfield with a couple of remarkably speedy changes, eliciting applause from the audience at how she seemingly stopped time to get from one to another – aaah, the magic of theatre. Pilkington is a marvel in this production, clearly having the time of her life as she takes on the various larger-than-life characters, getting to showcase her comic talents in what was my personal favourite performance of the night.
Another highlight among the consistently impressive cast comes from Sebastien Torkia as Van Helsing and Mina – two huge characters that are performed brilliantly, again showcasing the comic abilities Torkia has. It was Mina that left the biggest impression for me in the first half of the play in a performance that had my sides threatening to split. Safeena Ladha has perhaps the most understated of all characters with Mina’s sister and Jonathan’s fiancée, Lucy, but shines throughout in a great chemistry with both of her possible suitors.
Speaking of Lucy’s suitors, Charlie Stemp gives a performance like you have never seen from him before. As far away from Mary Poppins as you can get, the fun he is having as Jonathan Harker is as infectious as one of Dracula’s bites. Stemp also gets a moment to showcase his tap skills, made all the funnier through the less than impressed reactions of his co-stars. The cast is completed by a surprisingly underused James Daly who reprises his role from the original run as Dracula with a deeply appreciated flamboyance and flair. The way he moves and flirts with anything that comes in his way delights throughout with a charisma that flies off the stage like a bat out of Hell.
The Menier Chocolate Factory had a tough act to follow after their last production, The Producers, was so well-received, it has landed a West End transfer. Dracula, A Comedy of Terrors feels like a fitting follow-up, with its Mel Brooks style comedy drawing obvious comparisons to its predecessor while still standing on its own too feet. Though it may not quite reach the dizzying heights of that last show, it is still a riotously funny night out, guaranteeing anyone that visits will have a bloody good time.
Dracula, A Comedy of Terrors plays at the Menier Chocolate Factory until May 3rd.
Photos by Matt Crockett