Dracula - November 2003, The Dukes, Lancaster
Production photos : review
It happened to be Halloween the night I visited the Dukes in Lancaster to see Dracula, so by the time I arrived I was already in witches and spooks mode having seen dozens of little witches and their minders. The bar was full of theatergoers who had entered into the spirit of the production and would not have looked out of place on stage.
Dracula is a well-known horror story and my first thoughts were that this was an ambitious enterprise. Ambitious it may be to condense a story with locations in Whitby, London and Transilvania into a Lancaster stage but it was thoroughly well done. We were whisked around the world by reported speech and sound effects - very realistic and used to good effect.
The scene was set with a steady-paced start which built in tempo and suspense during the first half, by which time the audience was quiet and intent on listening and watching. The stage was without many props but on different levels, atmosphere was created by smoke and lighting which were used very effectively. I particularly liked the huge cinema-style screen behind the actors which was used to project atmospheric images. Indeed at times it projected very realistic images of the inside of the coffin!
The second half was all action, with Dracula and his accomplice getting their just desert.
This was a packed house. Well worth seeing. Good material, well acted and produced. Imaginative and entertaining.
I went out casting an occasional glance around to see that I was still alone
Alan Chard