Tag Archives: Gordon Greenberg

DRACULA, A COMEDY OF TERRORS

★★★★

Menier Chocolate Factory

DRACULA, A COMEDY OF TERRORS

Menier Chocolate Factory

★★★★

“the air is thick with mischief and the sense of fun that this insanely talented troupe bring to the stage is enough to win us over”

‘Transsexual Transylvaniaaa-a-a!’ comes to mind the moment James Daly’s lace-and-leather-clad, midriff-baring Dracula makes his flamboyant entrance onto the stage. But it’s a riff that’s half a century old. So the writers, Gordon Greenberg and Steve Rosen, need something more saucy to dollop onto the old frank-n-furter. It’s safe to say, thankfully, that they’ve dished up the magic ingredients – hundreds and thousands of them in fact, sacrilegiously scattered all over Bram Stoker’s gothic masterpiece. It’s the theatrical equivalent of popping candy, that fizzles in your mouth and leaves you giggling with effervescent joy. Chuck in some camp, gender-swapping, costume-changing, character-bending humour; a touch of gore, and rapid-fire one-liners and you eventually arrive at the imperfect feast that is “Dracula, A Comedy of Terrors”. Faithful(ish) to Bram Stoker’s original, it still takes succulent chunks of the story’s flesh and regurgitates it dripping with frivolity. As the writers themselves have said of the novel: ‘anything that takes itself that seriously is a prime target for satire’.

As the houselights fade, we are plunged into a cacophony of darkness and noise, rather like entering a ghost train at a fairground. Tijana Bjelajac’s shadowy set reflects this kind of clubland-meets-circus atmosphere, while Tristan Raine’s costumes blend Victoriana with novelty, giving hints of steampunk. Clever use of props and puppets add to the magic, while the many costume changes are acrobatic feats – one in particular drawing its own round of applause. But the main attraction is the juggling act in which the cast of five play a whole horde of madcap characters.

Little time is spent in Transylvania itself. Jonathan Harker (a wonderfully goofy and uptight Charlie Stemp) rocks up at Dracula’s castle to clinch a lucrative property deal with the count. James Daly’s Dracula is the archetypal image of the narcissistic Rock Star – money and sex on tap but still wanting more. The sexual tension between him and Harker is palpable, until Dracula diverts his bloodthirsty attentions onto Harker’s fiancé, Lucy. By now we are back in Whitby, not exactly the kind of seaside town you have in mind for a queer pilgrimage. Dracula meets his match with the array of kooky individuals he comes up against. Safeena Ladha is headstrong and assertive as Lucy. Her rather downtrodden sister, Mina, is played by Sebastien Torkia, complete with ginger wig and ruffled ballgowns. Dianne Pilkington is their father, Dr. Westfield, who has turned their house into a live-in retreat for society’s oddballs (all played with a vaudevillian hilarity by them all).

You know the story, and how it ends. It’s the treatment that stands out. Co-writer Greenberg also directs, his hand visibly cracking the whip to keep the pace as frenetic as the lunacy. After the initial set-up, however, the humour is relatively conventional. More panto than subversive. The melodrama is kicked to the rafters even if some of the jokes don’t aim quite so high. But the air is thick with mischief and the sense of fun that this insanely talented troupe bring to the stage is enough to win us over. It is all very silly and chaotic, but delivered with precision and comic timing you could die for. But it doesn’t quite draw blood. It is more like a love-bite than a sharp set of fangs puncturing our skin. Then again – that’s probably a good thing. Definitely worth staking out.



DRACULA, A COMEDY OF TERRORS

Menier Chocolate Factory

Reviewed on 18th March 2025

by Jonathan Evans

Photography by Matt Crockett

 

 


 

 

Previously reviewed at this venue:

THE PRODUCERS | ★★★★★ | December 2024
THE CABINET MINISTER | ★★★★ | September 2024
CLOSE UP – THE TWIGGY MUSICAL | ★★★ | September 2023
THE THIRD MAN | ★★★ | June 2023
THE SEX PARTY | ★★★★ | November 2022
LEGACY | ★★★★★ | March 2022
HABEAS CORPUS | ★★★ | December 2021
BRIAN AND ROGER | ★★★★★ | November 2021

 

 

DRACULA

DRACULA

DRACULA

Working

★★★★

Upstairs at the Gatehouse

Working

Working

Upstairs at the Gatehouse

Reviewed – 12th September 2019

★★★★

 

“brilliant direction by Amanda Noar”

 

Studs Terkel (1912–2008) was a highly respected American writer and broadcaster who published several collections of oral histories. His conversations with ‘ordinary people’ revealed profound social, economic and personal truths about the times. Adapted by Stephen Schwartz and Nina Faso, this show brings to life the author’s 1974 book, Working, with spoken narratives and songs that illuminate gritty accounts of trying to earn a living in the USA.

The cast of eight actor/singers play multiple parts across professions as diverse as truck driver, nanny, hedge fund manager, prostitute, stone mason and flight attendant. Their narratives range from funny or quirky (a UPS delivery man startling attractive women for his own entertainment) to desperately sad (a woman enduring mind-numbing monotony on a factory assembly line). Cleverly, the script both documents a lost way of life and – bravely building upon Terkel’s source material – offers subtle updates to more recent working scenarios by utilising innovations such as e-mail and mobile phones. At the centre of these varied tales are the same recurring questions. How much should your job define you? What does it mean to spend so much of your existence in employment? And do we have a right to expect our work to be satisfactory and meaningful?

The stage set is an ingenious split-level scaffold structure resembling part of a construction site. This is compartmentalised to allow each actor their own designated area within it. The brilliant direction by Amanda Noar allows for these spaces to be suddenly spotlit or thrown into darkness, emphasising parallels or curious juxtapositions between workers as their confessions and experiences begin to dovetail.

A four-piece band led by musical director Jamie Noar embrace a diverse range of styles and moods, from big, brassy anthems to restrained, low-key heartbreakers. The stand-out moments are numerous, but the most memorable include ‘Just a Housewife’ sung by Lara Beth-Sas and ‘It’s an Art’ performed by Hannah Cheetham as a proud waitress determined to recognise the value in her role.

In parts, it’s hugely emotional – particularly when the full ensemble unite to complement each other’s stories and songs. You really feel you’ve had an insight into other people’s lives. Terkel’s gift was to show sufficient empathy for his interview subjects to bring out the very best in them. It’s a great credit to this production that it does the same.

 

Reviewed by Stephen Fall

Photography by Colin Allen 

 


Working

Upstairs at the Gatehouse until 22nd September

 

Previously reviewed at this venue:
After the Ball | ★★★ | March 2018
Return to the Forbidden Planet | ★★★ | May 2018
Kafka’s Dick | ★★★★ | June 2018
Nice Work if You Can Get It | ★★★★ | December 2018
Bad Girls The Musical | ★★★ | February 2019
Strike Up The Band | ★★★★ | March 2019
The Marvelous Wonderettes | ★★★★ | April 2019
Flat Out | ★★★★ | June 2019
Agent 14 | | August 2019
Pericles, Prince Of Tyre | ★★★ | August 2019

 

Click here to see our most recent reviews