Taking in Kate Hamill’s Dracula was, as Renfield put it, “…….he (Dracula) came and stood below my window in the moonlight. And he promised me things, not in words, but by doing them”. This play did those things in words, action, characters, costume and lighting design, visual and audio.
A quick recap on two of Bram Stoker’s ‘Dracula’ characters is needed to better acquaint you with Kate Hamill’s ‘Dracula – A Feminist Revenge Fantasy. Really’ play version.
In Bram Stoker's Dracula, R.M. Renfield is a supporting character who serves as a loyal servant and familiar to Count Dracula:
Helping Dracula: Renfield assists Dracula in his plan to turn Mina Harker into a vampire.
Eating insects: Renfield consumes bugs and rodents that Dracula provides to him.
Living in an asylum: Renfield resides in a mental health facility where he is treated by Dr. John Seward.
Tormented by his devotion: Renfield is tormented by the conflict between his humanity and his devotion to Dracula.
Fights Dracula: Renfield fights Dracula off for a time, but Dracula snaps his neck.
Renfield (far right) was on stage in the asylum way before the play started. She was so interesting a character.
Renfield is a foil to Dracula, exposing Dracula's seductive allure and doomed shadow side. Renfield's fate is a major plot point in Dracula and serves as a cautionary tale against the quest for immortality.
All true in Kate Hamill’s version, except Renfield is a woman. The actor, Kim Wood, was fabulous (as all the characters were) as Renfield.
In Stoker's Dracula, Dr. Abraham Van Helsing is a Dutch professor, scientist, and philosopher who plays a central role in the fight against Dracula. In Hamill’s version, played by Nova Hall, a female Van Helsing is as big and bad and an undeniable talent. As Van Helsing, she:
Diagnoses Lucy: Van Helsing is called upon by Dr. Seward to help diagnose Lucy Westenra's strange behavior, and correctly identifies her as a vampire victim.
Leads the hunt for Dracula: Van Helsing leads and encourages Lucy to be a vampire hunter to destroy Dracula.
Combines old and new: Van Helsing is knowledgeable about both modern Western medicine and superstitions and folk remedies. This allows her to see things that others can't.
In a memorable finale, after killing Dracula, Van Helsing encourages Lucy to take a stake in case her husband, Jonathan Harker, who had earlier been bitten by Dracula, becomes a vampire, to protect herself and kill him if necessary. Because “All men are mad in some way or the other;” Dracula
Geoffrey Gilbert played Dracula. He was everything you’d want in a Dracula character. ....."the blood is the life".
A rambling blog. So much to tell you. The costumes were all white with a black background. Great contrast. No black cape that you typically think of when visulaizing Dracula.
I saw this blurb on some site this morning. It helped me finish writing this all-over-the-place blog.
“A short story by Bram Stoker, the legendary author of "Dracula," has been unearthed by a lifelong enthusiast in Dublin who stumbled upon the work while browsing in a library archive.
Titled "Gibbet Hill," the story was uncovered by Brian Cleary in a Christmas supplement of the Dublin edition of the Daily Mail newspaper from 1890 and had remained undocumented for more than 130 years.
The rare find, which has never been referenced in any Stoker bibliography or biography, is now being brought to the public for the first time at an exhibition in the Irish capital.”
Great play. Seven HFFC members risked getting their necks bit. I think we are all okay. But for a little while I will carry a stake with me just in case.
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