Play Review: Blackeyed Theatre's Dracula
A sharply economical adaption of Stoker's original story
Adapted by Nick Lane and Blackeyed Theatre
BEAM Theatre, Hertford, March 7, 2025
There are such beings as vampires.
They are known everywhere where men have been.
They possess the strength of twenty living men.
They have control over the dead.
They are cunning and pitiless.
They cast no shadow or reflection.
Hot on the heels of Eggers’ remake of Nosferatu (reviewed here), the crew at Blackeyed Theatre have returned to Bram Stoker’s source material with an economical but effective and atmospheric dramatisation of Dracula by Nick Lane.
Six actors and one stage set carry the essence of the novel’s plot, divided into six acts: Harker’s journey to Transylvania; the Demeter’s last voyage; Lucy Westenra’s deteriorating health; Van Helsing’s investigation; Renfield’s incarceration; and finally, the return to Dracula’s castle.
Strong performances throughout by the ensemble cast who assume multiple roles (with a particularly fantastic rendition of Renfield by Marie Osman), along with several changes to modernise the original story; notably the count’s calculated rebuke of the British Empire’s atrocities to Harker as comprehension of his imprisonment dawns, and a refreshing take on Dracula’s legacy in the finale.
This review originally appeared in Dispatch Edition #5.
The Dispatch is a monthly roundup by British speculative fiction writer, Jordan Acosta. News, short reviews and more, published every first Thursday. You can subscribe at jordanacosta.co, and read previous editions, here.
