As part of her ongoing post-show Q&A series, on Friday 8 February 2019, Mates co-founder Terri Paddock reunites with Creation Theatre for their site-specific production of Dracula, spectacularly staged amongst the bookshelves at The London Library. Got any questions?
I had a fantastic time talking to Creation Theatre about their thrilling, sonic-immersive, one-woman adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe’s The Pit and the Pendulum. I’m really looking forward to seeing what they do with their hit two-hander version of another literary classic, Bram Stoker’s Dracula – my first-ever visit (certainly for a show) to The London Library…
“There is a poison in my blood, in my soul, which may destroy me”
Bram Stoker‘s 1892 Gothic horror novel tells the story of Count Dracula’s attempt to move from Transylvania to England so that he may find new blood and spread the vampires’ undead curse.
Creation Theatre Company’s new adaptation of Dracula, written by Kate Kerrow and directed by Helen Tennison, is performed by just two actors and uses innovative audio-visual design to conjure up the phantom count. It had a sell-out run in March 2018 in the basement of Blackwell’s Bookshop in Oxford.
“Creation’s new production of Dracula uses innovative techniques & staging to tell the story, while simultaneously taking it back to its roots. Sexuality, identity & the boundary between good & evil are questioned throughout, held up to close scrutiny, and found to be fragile & fragmenting. The horror aspects of the story are brought to the forefront, and there are many moments that are genuinely frightening” – Daily Info
“It is sensuous, unsettling, humorous in parts & technically brilliant with expert stagecraft. It is absorbing to the point of hypnotic. There is a little gore; most of the frights are unseen. This is a very grown-up Dracula for our times with a strong female lead. A hugely enjoyable show & a towering achievement for Creation” – ★★★★★ The Oxford Times
It now transfers for a strictly limited season at the historic London Library, dubbed by Stephen Fry as a “gym of the mind”. For nearly two hundred years, The London Library has played a central role in the intellectual and cultural life of the nation. It holds a remarkable collection of over one million books and periodicals – around 8000 new volumes are added annually – including some astonishing rarities and a uniquely eclectic mix of titles.
Based in Banbury, Creation Theatre have been producing site-specific productions across Oxfordshire for 22 years, bringing anarchic adaptations of classic stories to unusual venues.
Terri Paddock founded WhatsOnStage.com and the WhatsOnStage Awards, running the company and its events from 1996 to 2013. Terri is also the author of two novels, Come Clean and Beware the Dwarfs, and has previously written for the Evening Standard, Independent, The Times and other national publications. She is renowned for her 'legendary' post-show Q&As and also produces the annual Critics' Circle Theatre Awards and acts as a digital, content strategy and event consultant for theatre, producers and other clients. She tweets about theatre at @TerriPaddock.
