Fright nights, light bites and creatures of the night

What better way to celebrate Halloween, than with a staging of Bram Stoker’s 1897 gothic masterpiece? Although Dracula was not the original vampire fiction (Polidori’s Vampyr was published some 70 years prior) it is to Stoker’s Count that we owe much of modern lore about the bloodsucking world of the undead.

Pete Watt’s intelligent, faithful adaptation makes clever use of Strigoi characters (performed with macabre joy by Catherine Lee and Hollie Genevieve), who weave around the narrative with sections of the epistolary original. Like Macbeth’s “wyrd sisters” they appear to be ministers of fate, reciting the letters and diary entries which give the book its sense of the uncanny.

The play opens by foreshadowing the regret of its key protagonists, giving what is essentially an atmospheric horror, something of a human quality. This helps to highlight the central themes of morality, science, the natural and supernatural.

Teagan O’Brien (Mina) and Caroline Edwards (Lucy) show great versatility as prim Victorian ladies, turned carnal creatures of the night, much to the consternation of their medic guardians Van Helsing (Jasmine Mullany) and Dr Seward (Alan Johnson). Meanwhile George Buckland’s Jonathan Harker portrays a vulnerability that draws out the young man’s confusion and wide-eyed naivety.

Pete Watt plays the titular count with a romantic strength that stays just the right side of camp; and Naomi Read’s well pitched performance questions the nature of power, humanity, the mind and body in the industrial age, as an excellent Renfield. Both performers command the space with skill and are central to some of the strongest moments in this production.

Careful direction from Phil Prior, ensures a taught, chilling atmosphere is maintained throughout, avoiding the temptation to play moments for shock value or melodrama.

This ambitious Compton Players’ production has three more performances this week, on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

I would commend it to lovers of literature and classic horror alike.

TONY TRIGWELL-JONES

* As a special spooky treat on Saturday, there was on one-off late night performance with meal included, which unsurprisingly quickly sold out.

DRACULA by Bram Stoker, in various versions, has been around for many years and there have been numerous interpretations via film and theatre. This version, adapted by Pete Watt, starts aboard the ship bound for Whitby but the action takes place in flashback and, additionally differs to many interpretations, by having the narrative driven by the Strigois (Vampires?) via journals and other principal characters.

FRONT OF HOUSE: The hall was laid out cabaret style and this worked very well as a supper was provided (the same as in the play, Chicken Hendl) before the production. The FOH staff were friendly and welcoming and a good atmosphere was created this evening, just a few days away from Halloween.

PROGRAMME: The A5 colour programme had information about the production with brief biographies of the cast with photos. There was a list of production crew, message from the Director and writer of this adapted version.

SCENERY/SET/PROPERTIES: These were all excellent. The set had been cleverly designed to maximise the available space and depicted the various locations; castle, ship, lunatic asylum.

COSTUMES/HAIR/MAKE UP: These were excellent with all cast being dressed relevant to their character. Dracula was suitably garbed in black. Van Helsing had a dress/suit that reflected her status in society and Renfield’s asylum dress was plain and in keeping with the period. Jonathan Harker’s suit was very smart and well fitted and, again, in keeping with the period as were all other characters including the vampires.

SOUND AND SPECIAL EFFECTS: The sound was excellent with great use of music for tension and atmosphere, especially when Dracula was ‘hypnotising’ Lucy with the dance. The special effects, use of fake blood and creating the transfusion scene were very good and enhanced the production.

THE PRODUCTION: Overall this was an enjoyable production. Naomi Read deserves special praise for her restrained and convincing portrayal of Bella Reinfield while in the lunatic asylum. Equally, Pete Watt in the title role was commanding and controlling. The pace was, at times, rather slow and therefore lost some momentum. However, the story with its quirks and surprises was well received by the appreciative audience. Well done Compton!

CHRIS HORTON