Remaking a Monster: Gaslamp Theatre Presents Dracula for a Contemporary Audience
Zara Grew
20/03/24
(Image Credit: Zara Grew)
Zara Grew goes behind the scenes of Gaslamp Theatre’s production of Dracula.
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Cottiers Theatre was the perfect setting for a storytelling session with one of history’s most infamous monsters: Count Dracula. A cold stone church, with original stain glass windows and wooden beams supporting the pews under a towering steeple. The gothic architecture equalled an eerie atmosphere as the audience walked in through a haze of smoke, encouraged to sit facing each other in an uncomfortably intimate traverse layout.
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Dracula is a classic story and, akin to many of fiction’s greatest monsters, is a representation of our everyday fears. Gaslamp Theatre described their interpretation as a piece which: “confronts issues of power and sexual repression, masculinity, and the fear of the other. Or rather, the fear that the other might be just like you.” Adding: “After all, vampires can’t go where they aren’t invited.”
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An hour before curtain call, I popped into the rehearsal room to chat to the Gaslamp team about reimaging this iconic novel. Gaslamp is an emerging, grassroots company which has grown out of community and student theatre groups in Glasgow. Founded in 2020 by Micheal Cartledge, a recent University of Glasgow graduate who wanted to shake up the Glasgow theatre scene. His idea for Gaslamp as a company is to: “shed light where there is darkness”.
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Micheal explained how Gaslamp carved out its place in the Glasgow theatre scene:
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“I started Gaslamp because I wanted to make a space for ideas which were pitched to other groups but had been rejected… Gaslamp was all about doing something different and interesting. Now I’ve discovered that some people are coming to us as their first choice for their pieces which is wonderful to hear”.
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Writer and Director, Rebecca Russel said she was encouraged by Micheal to tackle the stage adaptation of the beloved novel: “I’ve known Michael who runs Gaslamp for a long time and he for some reason has consistently trusted me to run productions. I didn’t actually initially have the idea to do Dracula, Micheal said: I would like to do Dracula with Gaslamp, here’s a script that I wrote in High School and I said Michael this script is terrible; I could do a better job”.
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“I started by rereading the novel and noting all these things that were strange to me about it. It is steeped in a Victorian paranoia – fear of foreigners, fear of strangers, fear of women and those elements are interesting but if you’re adapting for the modern day you need to have a different take on them”.
(Directors: Rebecca Russell and Moira Hamilton, image Credit: Zara Grew)
Dracula presented an exciting challenge for the creative team who were adapting the book to convey its significance in the modern day. Co-director Moira Hamilton talks about the process of uncovering themes which are still relevant for a contemporary audience:
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“Everyone assumes they know the story of Dracula but the story is so much stranger and longer and actually includes a lot of paperwork…the main character is a solicitor. it becomes exciting because Dracula puts these plain people into extreme circumstances and pushes them to their limits. A vampire is often a metaphor and Dracula represents a lot of things, particularly the fear of the outside, which is something to consider when you are making a period piece for a contemporary audience. The Victorians were very repressed people and their problems echo into the issues we have now. Dracula is a manipulative character who has no shame and will take whatever he can get from other people and pull it right out of him. I think that shamelessness is really important because the Victorians are full of shame. We can use that same metaphor to pick apart what our fears and anxieties are now about progressive change.”
(Stage Manager: Rosemary Bailey, image Credit: Zara Grew)
In tandem with the psychological fears Gaslamp are trying to tease out of the audience, Stage Manager Rosie shared her vision of using gory effects to represent the traditional horror within the story:
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“I would describe the production as very blood heavy, Rebecca wanted to do something different, something risky with Dracula so a lot of my ideas were around the blood and practical effects. We had a blood transfusion on stage with a syringe, a machine and an opaque tube. Our main thought was; how can we make this show as visceral as possible?”
(Actor: Kristupus Liubinas, image Credit: Zara Grew)
Stepping into the role of Dracula was an exciting challenge for emerging actor Kristupus who wanted to bring youth and a sense of familiarity to the famously undead villain:
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“What would my Dracula be like? What would Dracula be like if he was younger… In the body of someone who’s 20-something and why would Dracula choose to be like that. I want people to leave thinking that Dracula was much more recognisable and familiar to the people that I see in my everyday life. Our Dracula is a mirror of people’s weaknesses, fears and desires. There’s a duality in making Dracula young, charming and much more familiar and also a reflection of the darker sides of ourselves is our unique, exciting take on Dracula”.
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“I am really excited for you see it and really excited to hear what you think afterwards”.
Speaking to the cast and crew allowed me into the world of Dracula. Enabling me to see the creation of a contemporary monster and the work that went into adapting a Victorian novel and unpicking the themes which are still relevant today.
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The play waltzed through the original text, breathing life into the narrative, particularly casting a more critical eye over the darkness of personhood and the constraints of the patriarchal structure. Kristupus’s Dracula was quietly alluring, with each calculated movement intended to draw the eye. The chemistry between the shameless Dracula and the deeply ashamed but lustful Jonathon, portrayed by Frederik Bang, created a strong and complex power dynamic which illuminated the queer undertones of the text.
(Image Credit: Katarina Dulude @katarinadoesphotography)
The narrative was bolstered by strong performances from the female cast and nuanced exploration of the well-known female characters. Particularly a further examination of the relationship between Lucy and Mina, which alluded to a deeper connection than friendship. Naomi Devlin portrayed Lucy’s helplessness under the societal expectations of women and, alongside Roscoe Crawford as Seward and Devlin McWhirter as Holmwood, offered moments of humor, irony and deep sadness in the limitations of marriage. The characterisations of Mina and Renfield effectively represented female anguish and resistance to the patriarchal structure. It was particularly interesting to see Hannah Allison’s Mina grow as she took control of her fate after Lucy’s death.
(Image Credit: Katarina Dulude @katarinadoesphotography)
Gaslamp’s Dracula posed questions around contemporary fears of the unknown and held a mirror up to modern societal structures which are still informed by archaic views around gender, sexuality, and conservativism. The character of Dracula offers an alternative to shame and in doing so creates a conversation around the problematic nature of modern Britain and how it continues to cling to traditional values. This production is a youthful, revolutionary commentary on the pitfalls of modern society and gives us a relevant lens to look at deep rooted issues of shame which permeate into our everyday life.
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As a young, Scottish theatre company Gaslamp are not afraid to confront current societal structures and this beautifully designed, visceral Victorian piece endeavored and succeeded in presenting the intrinsic search for freedom and agency among young people in an oppressive contemporary landscape.
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Follow Gaslamp Theatre on social media to keep up to date with their work as they continue to produce similarly exciting and pioneering pieces of Scottish theatre.