Frighteningly funny take on tale of Dracula was perfect entertainment for spooky season – review

Audiences enjoyed frighteningly funny entertainment last week as they were treated to a new take on the sinister tale of vampire Count Dracula.It came as King’s Lynn Operatic and Dramatic Society’s (KLODS) production of Dracula: The Bloody Truth was brought to the town’s St George’s Guildhall over the October half-term and – of course – Halloween.This fresh, comedic take on Bram Stoker’s classic is presented by Professor Van Helsing who is on a mission to tell the “truth” about Dracula.

KLODS’ version of the critically acclaimed show featured 11 – well, technically 10 and ½ according to the programme, I assume due to Dracula being undead – talented actors playing 40 characters.In the style of a ‘play that goes wrong’, the family-friendly show thoroughly entertained all ages when I watched Dracula: The Bloody Truth with my partner Lee on Saturday afternoon.Before the curtains had even lifted, some of the performers were in amongst the crowds while in character, warming us up for the theatrics to come.

All 11 actors played their parts well, with Ben Parr brilliant as an ever-frustrated Van Helsing attempting to hold everything together and tell the story from his point of view. Thomas Whybrow was great as a silly but occasionally menacing Dracula, while the rest of the cast were also fantastic at overdramatising their roles which added to the fun.They were James Jakeman as Jonathan Harker, Tom Marshall as Dr Seward, Rowan Fox-Noble as Arthur Holmwood, Dorcia Bowden-Noble as Mina Harker, Fenella Thomson as Lucy Westenra, Naomi Whybrow as Mrs Westenra and others, Issy Parr as Margaret and others, Emma Grove as Renfield and others, and Tobie Fysh as Paperboy and others. All were believable and confident in their parts – they were just as convincing as you would expect from a professional cast.There were so many laugh-out-loud moments, and I felt as though these actors had to work even harder than usual to make sure that things happened perfectly wrongly instead of perfectly correctly in a normal show.Some of the parts that went awry were so unexpected and hilarious – and kept the audience on their toes. There was a particularly funny moment – after a domino effect of things going wrong – which ended in one of the actors covered in ‘sick’ in an attempt to wake her after having fainted.Mention also has to go to Alex Kendal whose direction ensured that all these moments pieced together so well, the crew behind the brilliant sets, and the lighting and sound effects which were vitally important to the story.And I must also speak of those behind the costumes, hair and make-up which were also fantastic and essential to the story-telling.It was perfect entertainment for the spooky season – and I’m excited to see what KLODs does next!