Sipping a glass of red wine at the interval is the only way to go when Dracula is involved.
But the scary story told in North East Scotland’s Doric? Now there’s a clever idea. The National Theatre of Scotland is doing a grand job of taking old tales and giving them a modern shake-up and a bit of fun fizz.
The latest, in conjunction with Aberdeen Performing Arts, is Dracula. Mina’s Reckoning, which made its debut in Aberdeen and is now hot footing across the country, with a stop off at the Theatre Royal Glasgow until Saturday, before going on a UK tour until 28th October.
The classic novel by Bram Stoker is switched from the original Whitby to Aberdeen by writer Morna Pearson and features an all-female cast. The play is set at Slains Castle in Cruden Bay, a place which helped inspire Stoker, and directed by Sally Cookson, with an intriguing set and costumes designed by Kenneth MacLeod and dark music from composer Benji Bower.
At the centre is Liz Kettle, who was made to play Dracula. Her imposing presence, spindly fingers and long swept back hair, means she is ready for business, and you can almost hear her lips smacking at the prospect of sinking her teeth into a blood bursting neck.
Her presence is powerful, but in the background, as Pearson’s story centres on Mina Murray (Danielle Jam), who stays home while her fiancée Jonathan Harker (Catriona Faint) travels to Transylvania to secure a Scottish house sale with Dracula.
Distracted by the problems of her friend Lucy Westenra (Ailsa Davidson), Mina temporarily forgets Jonathan and instead concentrates on Lucy’s intense relationship with fiancée Dr Seward (Maggie Bain), who is in charge of an asylum full of women made mentally ill by their lack of options in life and doomed to the constraints of a Victorian marriage.
Rebellious Lucy is the first to fall into the arms of Dracula, who offers freedom, but then in a bite, takes it away and she soon gets a taste for blood herself, while Mina heroically fights back against becoming the next victim and being kept in the asylum, resulting in an explosive ending.
The hard working and talented ensemble switch from one character to another and the scenes in the asylum are beautifully choreographed by Vicky Manderson.
Pearson has used Stoker’s book for modern day questions on gender roles and identity in such an intriguing way, but without losing any of the blood curdling drama of the original.
For more information on tour dates and ticket availability for Dracula: Mina’s Reckoning, please visit: www.nationaltheatrescotland.com .
Author Bio:
Rebecca Hay is an experienced travel writer and member of The British Guild of Travel Writers. Follow her adventures with her family on Twitter and Instagram @emojiadventurer and on Facebook via EmojiAdventurers2.
Photographs by Mihaela Bodlovic
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