Last night I attended the evening presentation of Dracula, by the Grand Theatre Academy in Blackpool. The play was performed by the adult members of the Youth Theatre – which put the ages of those involved between 19 and 25. These young people did a marvellous job.
Perhaps there are fewer male members of the Youth Theatre, but many of the male roles were played by actresses and yet their performances enabled you to detach from such gender considerations. Mention here must go to Sarah Eaton who played Dracula. She gave an engrossing performance and even managed to adopt a Lugosi-esque accent without it sounding cornball.
There must be mention of two performances in particular. Yasmine Spracklen gave a thoughtful and mature air to her role as Mina, offering a character close to my understanding of that portrayed by Stoker.
I have said that many of the roles were played by actresses but there were a few actors involved and star of the show, for me, was Ali Hall who gave a thoroughly riveting portrayal of Jonathon Harker. If that young man is not destined for bigger and better things then there is no justice in the world.
The play itself was based on the 1996 script by John Godber and Jane Thornton – a remarkably novel accurate retelling, though it did involve changes as one would expect.
The play was directed by Paul David-Gough and I want to thank all involved for an entertaining night.
Perhaps there are fewer male members of the Youth Theatre, but many of the male roles were played by actresses and yet their performances enabled you to detach from such gender considerations. Mention here must go to Sarah Eaton who played Dracula. She gave an engrossing performance and even managed to adopt a Lugosi-esque accent without it sounding cornball.
There must be mention of two performances in particular. Yasmine Spracklen gave a thoughtful and mature air to her role as Mina, offering a character close to my understanding of that portrayed by Stoker.
I have said that many of the roles were played by actresses but there were a few actors involved and star of the show, for me, was Ali Hall who gave a thoroughly riveting portrayal of Jonathon Harker. If that young man is not destined for bigger and better things then there is no justice in the world.
The play itself was based on the 1996 script by John Godber and Jane Thornton – a remarkably novel accurate retelling, though it did involve changes as one would expect.
The play was directed by Paul David-Gough and I want to thank all involved for an entertaining night.
2 comments:
Hi thanks for the good review im glad someone who know and enjoys dracula so much liked our work. I was happy to read my personal bit of the review and was happy you enjoyed my performance after my first reservations as playing dracula being a female actor. Sarah Eaton.
No problem at all - it wa a good performance and the praise was deserved
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