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• DIRECTOR'S NOTES

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Production Information

Reviews

Director's Notes

Just a few weeks after the Hollywood release of the goth spectacle Underworld, and just a few months since the teenage blockbuster Twilight, one perhaps wonders: can a 1927 stage adaptation of Dracula stand up to the latest CGI-enhanced treatments of the timeless vampire mythology? Can the theatre even compete? Short answer: the theatre puts you in the room with the one thing CGI cannot: real people.

But even before that discussion - How can we create in the theatre an evening of fear and suspense when everyone watching already knows the story? And not just knows the story, but knows every plot point along the way? When the characters ask, “What is wrong with Lucy?” The audience already knows. When the characters ask “Who might be responsible?” The audience already knows. When finally we are faced with the culprit himself, his outcome is known by all. And besides, nobody believes in vampires, anyway. Good Lord! How do we create fear and suspense under these conditions?

Well, again, the theatre has a certain resource that trumps all devices: real people. In fact, at the core of drama one finds not just story and ideas, but character and relationship. The live actor takes on character, explores relationship and lives truthfully within the given circumstances. He/she creates real, live moments of flesh and breathing right there in front of you, the real, live spectator. It is hard not to believe in the actor, he is standing right there. The theatre has an intimacy that is unique and ultimately interactive. The last collaborator to join the Creative Team is you.

And yes, there will be fog, and things that go bump - a scream or two might startle you - but Dracula is so much more than these effects. Again, it is about character and relationship - and the fears and anxieties of these people trapped in these rather bizarre circumstances. When Lucy is asked what is wrong she first speaks of bad dreams. Renfield desperately wants to be saved. In rehearsal we have discovered that the fear and suspense in this play come from a real psychological and emotional place. It is these elements that create tension. No special effect can even begin to capture that onstage, or put that on a cineplex screen. The actor alone can bring those moments to life in the here and now.

Fear and suspense are suddenly in the room. And so are you.

Enjoy.

PHOTO GALLERY

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