Dracula's Guest at the White Bear Theatre
Last week we were invited to the White Bear Theatre in London to experience Dracula's Guest which promised to take us "into the dark heart of Victorian horror"
The show is a two-handed re-imagining of Bram Stoker's seminal Gothic novel, rather than a direct portrayal of the author's short story of the same name. Although there are some similarities with the original piece, the play focuses on the titular Dracula and his clearly unwilling Guest, a character you will be familiar with from the novel, although not who you might be expecting!
Through the course of 50 or so minutes, the audience was treated to a wildly vicious and vindictive vamp, taunting and teasing his Guest as he spiralled further into insanity. The characters generated feelings in the audience from shock to disgust, and occasional sympathy for both. Our emotions were further assaulted by the intimate, almost claustrophobic atmosphere of the small performance space and the professional projection from the two actors.
As a fan of the original work, I found the premise fascinating, and was thrilled as I pondered the purpose of rewriting the piece to feature an interesting but fairly minor character from the novel. The ending came with a truly terrifying twist that few expected and left us with more questions. A thoroughly enjoyable hour. Heartily recommended!
The show is a two-handed re-imagining of Bram Stoker's seminal Gothic novel, rather than a direct portrayal of the author's short story of the same name. Although there are some similarities with the original piece, the play focuses on the titular Dracula and his clearly unwilling Guest, a character you will be familiar with from the novel, although not who you might be expecting!
Through the course of 50 or so minutes, the audience was treated to a wildly vicious and vindictive vamp, taunting and teasing his Guest as he spiralled further into insanity. The characters generated feelings in the audience from shock to disgust, and occasional sympathy for both. Our emotions were further assaulted by the intimate, almost claustrophobic atmosphere of the small performance space and the professional projection from the two actors.
As a fan of the original work, I found the premise fascinating, and was thrilled as I pondered the purpose of rewriting the piece to feature an interesting but fairly minor character from the novel. The ending came with a truly terrifying twist that few expected and left us with more questions. A thoroughly enjoyable hour. Heartily recommended!
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