A travesty of the Dracula story is to tour the region this month. That’s not intended to be insulting, for the production by Northumberland Theatre Company (NTC) is entitled Dracula… The Travesty!.
In theatre terms, a travesty is a burlesque, a parody, an incongruous presentation, even a pantomime. The publicity describes it as a "comedy of terrors" and adds, "nNever has ‘He’s behind you’ had such a blood-curdling meaning. This will be the third time that NTC's popular panto-style re-imagining of the classic horror story has toured the North East.
“Audiences love it, which is why the Count is coming out of its coffin for a third tour,” said director Gillian Hambleton. “It’s light, funny and daft but with strong storytelling and some genuinely scary moments. This is Gothic storytelling at its best: imaginative, atmospheric and physically exciting. Whoever said that ‘fangs ain’t wot they used to be’ hasn’t seen this production yet and I promise they will have a frightfully good time.”
Written by West End actor and playwright Stewart Howson and with a cast made up of Stewart Howson, Big Dave and Gillian Hambleton, Dracula… The Travesty! is full of wolves, bats and the Brides of Dracula with plenty of audience participation, humour and music.
Tour details:
- 21 May: St Thomas’ Church Hall, Stanhope, Co Durham
- 22 May: Newbiggin Maritime Centre, Newbiggin-by-the-Sea, Northumberland
- 23 May: The Dovecote Centre, Amble, Northumberland
- 24 May: Eglingham Village Hall, Eglingham, Northumberland
- 25 May: Watson Memorial Hall, Lucker, Northumberland
- 26 May: Newton-le-Willows Village Hall, Bedale, North Yorkshire
- 31 May: The Exchange, Howard Street, North Shields