Actors sink their teeth into a spine-chilling challenge

Prepare to be scared this November as Buxton Drama League returns to the Pavilion Arts Centre, Buxton with the classic spine-tingler, Dracula.
Megan Davies as Lucy and Alastair Massey as Dracula in Buxton Drama League's presentation of Dracula.Megan Davies as Lucy and Alastair Massey as Dracula in Buxton Drama League's presentation of Dracula.
Megan Davies as Lucy and Alastair Massey as Dracula in Buxton Drama League's presentation of Dracula.

The play, adapted by Scottish poet Liz Lochhead from Bram Stoker’s novel, brings the legendary vampire to vivid and terrifying life.

In Whitby, two sisters dream of romance; a young solicitor is sent on a journey to meet his new client; in a London asylum, one of the inmates predicts the coming of his ‘Master’; and in the East, an ancient evil is preparing to leave his homeland in search of new prey …

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Director Robbie Carnegie says: ‘Everyone thinks they know Dracula. There’s been so many versions of the story. But the play manages to make the story completely fresh and genuinely scary. We have to keep reminding ourselves how the characters must feel in the play. They’ve never heard of Count Dracula. They don’t know all the clichés about vampires. So what happens to them is terrifying – and we want the audience to be terrified too!’

The cast comprises ten local actors all being stretched way out of their comfort zone. “If you’re acting in Dracula, you can’t be timid in your performance,” said Robbie. “You need to throw yourself into the play, physically and emotionally, and the cast are rising to the challenge brilliantly. We’re having a brilliant time rehearsing the show and we know that the audience will get a buzz out of seeing it!”

Dracula will be performed from Thursday, November 16, to Saturday, November 18, at the Pavilion Arts Centre, Buxton. To book tickets, go to www.buxtonoperahouse.org.uk or phone the box office on 01298 72190.

Buxton Drama League is the town’s leading drama group, generally producing two major plays each year, as well as an annual pantomime and Fringe shows. For more information, contact [email protected].

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