Blackeyed Theatre is to tour a new version of Dracula, with the second venue being Derby – where Hamilton Deane’s production marked the first official appearance on stage of Bram’s Stoker’s anti-hero.
Stoker’s “timeless gothic thriller embodies the struggle to break taboos, resist temptation and stop the unknown outside becoming the enemy within”. Deane's Dracula premièred on 15 May 1924 at the Grand Theatre, Derby and then toured England for three years before settling in London.
This new version is adapted by Nick Lane, and the cast comprises Maya-Nika Bewley as Mina Harker and Dr Hennessey, David Chafer (Abraham van Helsing and Count Dracula), Richard Keightley (Dr John Seward and Count Dracula), Pelé Kelland-Beau (Jonathan Harker and Quincey Morris), Marie Osman (Lucy Westenra and Renfield) and Harry Rundle (Arthur Holmwood and Count Dracula).
Original music is by Tristan Parkes. The creative team includes Enric Ortuño (movement and intimacy director), Victoria Spearing (set designer), Naomi Gibbs (costume designer) and Oliver Welsh (lighting designer).
Lane, who also directs, said, “I'm always excited to work with Blackeyed Theatre and Dracula is such a cracking work—tense, dense and dripping with menace. I wanted to tell the classic story but also to try to explore certain elements within it in a slightly different way.
“When you blend the familiar and the strange, as we did with The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde in 2021 and the Sherlock Holmes adaptation The Valley of Fear in 2022, what you're hoping is that fans of the story feel you've done Bram Stoker justice while those that are coming to Dracula with no preconceptions are drawn in by the mystery of who Count Dracula is. And of course ultimately you want to give everyone a great night out.”
Blackeyed Theatre’s artistic director Adrian McDougall added, “this year marks the company’s 20th birthday and what better way to celebrate than with Bram Stoker’s classic.
“Dracula gives audiences a little bit of everything and encapsulates what Blackeyed Theatre is all about—telling fantastic stories with passion, originality and unashamed theatricality. And I’m proud that it furthers our mission to help ensure regional audiences get choice when it comes to high-quality theatre.”
Dracula will open at Harrogate Theatre from Thursday 12 until Saturday 14 September. It will then transfer to Derby Theatre from Tuesday 17 until Saturday 21 September, with press night on Thursday 19 September.
The production will then tour to Bury St Edmunds, Tonbridge, Southend, Bath, Warwick, Bracknell, Basingstoke, Windsor, Southport, Blackpool, Wolverhampton, Finchley, Eastbourne, Bromley, Swindon, Cardiff, Malvern, Basildon, Southampton, Guildford, Tunbridge, Norwich, Loughborough, Lincoln, Winchester, Hertford, Newbury, Poole, Chesterfield, Crewe, Darlington, Lichfield, Exeter, Ilfracombe and Scarborough until Saturday 3 May 2025.