We assumed that Titanique was going to be the stupidest show opening in London this year, but it now has stiff competition. Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors has debuted this week at the intimate Menier Chocolate Factory and it’s a delightfully daft re-imagining of Bram Stoker’s classic Gothic horror novel.
We’re fairly sure the original text didn’t feature a muscular pansexual protagonist but we’re willing to go with it. Canadian actor James Daly (who played the role when this show premiered in New York) is our titular vampire who makes a somewhat grand entrance wearing leather pants, a lace top, and little else. He leads a talented cast of five which also features Charlie Stemp, Safeena Ladha, Dianne Pilkington and Sebastien Torkia, who all take on multiple roles admirably.
It has a wonderfully irreverent sense of humour. A huge amount of entertainment is derived from the expert comic timing of the hardworking cast, the physicality the roles, and how the actors switch between them. We particularly enjoyed Dianne Pilkington throwing herself out of a window as one character and reappearing seconds later on the other side of the stage as someone else, complete with costume and wig change – a moment which deservedly earned a round of applause.
We did have a few qualms with the production – we felt there were pacing issues. For the most part it’s quite punchy, but on occasion it felt like not much was happening, or that we hadn’t had a good punchline in a while. It always gets back on track, but we thought a few of scenes could have benefited from tightening up. We thought some of the humour was a little tame, too – there are laugh-out-loud moments, but some of the punchlines are somewhat quaint, perhaps even a little dated. It’s also quite surface-level and a few of the characters are a bit one note – not a huge problem, but on occasion, a little more substance would have been appreciated.
Don’t get us wrong – we still had a good night with Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors. It has some genuinely funny moments and the cast are clearly very talented – we just felt there was probably a stronger show buried somewhere in there, and with a few edits it could be much more enjoyable. However, while it may not have a huge amount to sink your teeth into (sorry), it certainly doesn’t suck (sorry).
GAY TIMES gives Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors – 3/5
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