Is there life yet left in the withered corpse of Dracula, or has that husk been truly drained of all creative juices? Of course not, and with Bowjangles bringing their signature award-winning musical mayhem to this classic story, it’s fitting that they’ve blasted it out of orbit.
The conceit of this hyperactive, comedic musical medley is that the Bowjangles troupe has been launched into space at the end of the previous show. Once there, they encounter the USS Demeter, and, accepting an invitation aboard, are met by the sinister Doctor A Cula—and yes, that’s about as subtle as this winking and light-hearted romp gets.
It’s fair to say that the musically minded will certainly get a little more out of this, as the script abounds with orchestral humour about conductors, violas and myriad other in-jokes familiar to anyone who has ever spent time in that environment. But it’s never exclusionary, and there’s a rich and warm feeling of welcome, particularly as the plays grin and laugh with and at each other and encourage everyone to join in.
All the while, the stage is a raucous but harmonic blend of sawing bows and overlapping voices, as we see the age-old story recounted to brilliant comic effect. It’s impossible not to have a great time.