Review: Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors delivers laughter with bite
It’s worth the trip to London’s Grand to see a sexy, campy version of the vampire classic
I’m always game for season-specific theatre, so when I found out that London’s Grand Theatre was mounting a production of Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors (Rating: ✭✭✭✭) around Halloween, I practically howled with delight.
I’d wanted to see Gordon Greenberg and Steve Rosen’s high-energy, five-person/multi-character adaptation of the Bram Stoker classic during its lengthy Off-Broadway run, but missed it.
Directed with wit, style and efficiency by Krista Jackson, the show is a surprisingly faithful version of the story, with its tongue planted firmly in its befanged cheek.
The titular character (Jesse Gervais) is an equal opportunity blood-sucker who charms pretty much everyone with his Transylvania-accented basso voice and his pecs-forward wardrobe.
Those under his spell include the nerdy realtor Jonathan Harker (Nathan Howe), his childhood sweetheart/fiancée Lucy Westfeldt (Reena Jolly) and her sister, Mina (Constant Bernard, who’s used to drag, having played Rose’s mom in Titanique). Greenberg and Rosen have made the women sisters rather than friends, and given them a father, Dr. Westfeldt (Nora McLellan, who also gets to play Renfield in a wig that must be seen to be believed).