DRACULA

DRACULA

BlackeyedTheatre at the Civic Theatre, Chelmsford

22.01.2014

Five accomplished actor/musicians bring atmospheric freshness to the familiar story of the vampire Count, in this pared-down touring production from Blackeyed Theatre.

Paul Kevin-Taylor, impressively inhabiting the title role, makes a striking entrance, with his long coat, his cadaverous voice and his red hair. In a master-stroke, he also gets to play vampire-hunter Van Helsing, pursuing his prey from Victorian London to Transylvania. Much more doubling elsewhere, including Will Bryant outstanding as the strait-jacketed madman Renfield and young Jonathan Harker.

The women, whose role is enhanced in John Ginman's adaptation, are sympathetically played by Katrina Gibson and Rachel Winters.

Eliot Giuralarocca brings many clever touches to his production – the silent movie “A Fugitive Seeks Shelter”, the Music Hall number – as well as some spine-chilling effects. All on a spare scaffolding set, with atmospheric lighting, a candle or two, and live music from the versatile actors – Latin chant, folk music to set scenes, Psycho fiddle for Lucy's decapitation.

Scarcely any blood, no fake fangs, but a fast-moving drama, admirably true to the spirit and the style of the original.

OH WHAT A LOVELY WAR

Oh What a Lovely War

Blackeyed Theatre at Civic

15.09.11

Jim Hutchon was in the trenches ...

Director Adrian McDougall’s take on this savage WW1 satire combined the inexhaustible energy of a team of five music men, with superb touches of imagination and pointed video backdrops to bring out the pointless butchery of the war to end wars.

Although all the actors are seasoned professionals, the tone of the production was almost student-like in enthusiasm and boundless talent as the players slipped easily – and with split-second timing - between the 30+ characters they portrayed. A nice imaginative touch was that as each took on the different persona, their costume stands stood as white crosses, so that, by the end of the show, the stage was littered with them.

It is, first and foremost, a musical, and each of the players performed expertly on a variety of instruments, with, generally, excellent voices. Occasionally though, some of the monologues were a bit overwhelmed by the closeness of the trumpets and saxes. The jokes were also well-timed and pointed, frequently leaving the audience feeling guilty at laughing.

This was an evening of real entertainment – a fresh coat of paint to a familiar classic - and the near full house audience left the theatre smiling and humming the memorable songs.