THE HIGHGATE VAMPIRE
Omnibus Theatre
★★★½
“The jokes are sharp, delivered with impeccable timing and well-written”
The wonderfully titled collective Bag of Beard’s latest offering, The Highgate Vampire, takes the form of a ‘lecture’ chaotically delivered by two eccentric hunters of the occult. Played by long-time collaborators Alexander Knott and James Demaine, Sheffield – a Catholic priest ever quick to dramatically wield his golden crucifix – and Farringdon – a tobacconist with a penchant for new-age spirituality (and a séance or two) – strive to outdo one another in convincing their audience that they, in fact, are the vanquisher of the mythical Highgate Vampire. In doing so they compete to reach greater heights of clichéd and pompous verbosity and engage in all kinds of amusing stunts to tell their story, reportedly not far from real events that took place in the 1970s.
Knott and Demaine shine on stage together, the chemistry that comes with a shared history on the stage and extensive workshopping plain for all to see. Each brings his own off-kilter charisma to the role, confidently owning the stage, and their characters make excellent foils for one another. When they impersonate the other characters in their tale – the various dubious witnesses to the monster they seek to destroy – their comic versatility shines the brightest. It looks like they’re having enormous fun and, as a result, so is the audience.
Despite the apparent anarchy of the events on stage, the whole production feels taut and polished, presumably down to the work of director Ryan Hutton and producer Zöe Grain, who also makes an appearance as ‘Audrey the Technician’, often addressed directly by Sheffield as he looks for favourable treatment while telling his heroic tale. Grain’s use of the projector screen that dominates the stage is excellent – the visuals perfectly pitched and central to the experience – and the sound (Samuel Heron) and lighting provide just the right amount of campy horror atmosphere.
While the play entertains and amuses throughout, however, the zany energy is not matched by the unpredictability it could have afforded. The jokes are sharp, delivered with impeccable timing and well-written, but lack a sense of the absurd or unexpected that could have elevated them. The characters feel like they have emerged organically, but also as though they have been seen before in various other guises. And the plot moves along energetically, but it, too, holds no real surprises once the premise has been established. Despite it’s many successes one can’t shake the feeling that an opportunity has been missed to make this already enjoyable experience a memorable one.
THE HIGHGATE VAMPIRE
Omnibus Theatre
Reviewed on 17th December 2025
by Peter Jacobs
Photography by Charlie Flint
