Dracula: The Bloody Truth E-Book

John Nicholson

• Herausgeber: Nick Hern Books
• Kategorie: Poesie und Drama
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2017

Beschreibung

'Tonight I need you to understand the difference between fiction and the truth. Tonight you will discover that Bram Stoker's Dracula, is in fact… fact.' Travelling across Europe, from the dark and sinister Transylvanian mountains to the charming seaside town of Whitby, Professor Van Helsing and his three amateur actors stage a life-changing, theatrical production of Dracula – hoping to establish, once and for all, the bloody truth. The result is a delightfully silly, fast-paced and faithful (-ish) adaptation by John Nicholson (Hound of the Baskervilles, Peepolykus) of Bram Stoker's novel, originally performed by physical-comedy theatre company Le Navet Bete on a UK tour in 2017. Performed by four actors playing forty characters, Dracula: The Bloody Truth is a full-blooded adaptation offering abundant opportunities for any theatre company or drama group to sink their teeth into.

Leseprobe

Le Navet Bete & John Nicholson

DRACULA:THE BLOODY TRUTH

NICK HERN BOOKS

London

www.nickhernbooks.co.uk

Contents

Title Page

A Note from the Authors

Original Production

Characters

Note on Play

Dracula: The Bloody Truth

About the Authors

Copyright and Performing Rights Information

A Note from the Authors

The script you’re holding evolved through a process of devising in response to writing, and then writing in response to devising, and then writing in response to rehearsal. Although we wanted to make a comedy, we didn’t want to write a comedy. Or rather, we wanted to write a play about Dracula that was extremely loyal to Bram Stoker’s original story. The comedy, we decided, would emerge from the framing device – the idea that Van Helsing, who hates theatre, has hired three idiots to help him broadcast the true events that happened to him and his friends; the true events that Stoker has shamelessly fictionalised.

So in this respect, this play is not a spoof version of Dracula. It’s a serious (albeit wooden) script, within which terrible directorial decisions have been made and which is primed to derail at every turn. But despite all, the company somehow pull it off. One of the delights of the production is the sheer number of quick-changes the cast of four have to accomplish in order to play the forty or so characters. Sometimes the actors share characters, sometimes an actor is keeping three characters alive in one scene. As in a breakneck farce, the timing must be nanosecond precise in order to nail the comedy. The most commonly used word in rehearsal was: ‘Again!’

This play is the result of the collaboration from the whole creative team – from initial planning meetings through to the end of rehearsals. Aside from the brilliant and joyful Le Navet Bete company (Al Dunn, Matt Freeman, Dan Bianchi, Nick Bunt and Alex Best), credit must go to Phil Eddolls for his ingenious set design, Peter Coyte for his inspirational composition, and Sarah Dicks for her superbly realised costumes, all of which influenced the direction of the writing.

If you are keen to perform this play, we’d love to chat. It’s worth bearing in mind a few things. Firstly, although it was written for Le Navet Bete, a company who happen to be made up of four male performers, the play would work just as well if the cast was of mixed gender. The most obvious opportunity would be for Matt’s part to be played by a woman. Also, although part of the fun is the challenge of all the quick-changes, additional cast members could be brought in and the characters shared further.

Another discussion point will be the set, or rather, the three sets! The framing device is that the play is taking place in 1900, so we began with the idea of a set (or set elements) that help the audience suspend their disbelief in that respect. On top of this, Van Helsing has gathered furniture from around his house to help recreate various locations. When the company accidentally destroy the back wall at the end of the first half, they discover a rather hammy, French-brace-style set which is much more theatrical than Van Helsing’s furniture. So that gets incorporated into their retelling. In the original production, this concept was fully realised. But it could easily be simplified for other mountings of this script. A film of the original show is available from [email protected].

Happy reading!

John Nicholson

To those of you are about to delve into these pages, we hope you have as much fun reading/performing it as we did! Finally, we would like to thank our incredibly loyal fans and audiences who have continued to support our work over the past ten years. You are why we do what we do. That shared joy, fun, excitement and anticipation in the theatre is electric; something very special. Long may this continue.

LNB x

Dracula: The Bloody Truth was first performed by Le Navet Bete at the Exeter Northcott Theatre on 30 March 2017. The cast was as follows:

ACTOR 1Nick BuntACTOR 2Dan BianchiACTOR 3Matt FreemanACTOR 4Al DunnDirectorJohn NicholsonProduction & Technical ManagerAlex BestSet DesignerPhil EddollsSet BuildersBelgrade Theatre Production ServicesCostume DesignerSarah DicksComposer/Sound DesignerPeter CoyteLighting DesignerMarcus BartlettChoreographerLula NicholsonScenic ArtistNina RainesMagic ConsultantJohn BulleidStage ManagerAbi CowanCarpenterSpencer RouseWardrobe AssistantGeorgia BurgessGraphic DesignerDave RobertsonArtistic PhotographerMatt AustinProduction PhotographerMark DawsonShow Trailer VideographerSimon Burbage

Characters

ACTOR 1, Nick

ACTOR 2, Dan

ACTOR 3, Matt

ACTOR 4, Al

MAN IN DJ

PROFESSOR VAN HELSING

JONATHAN HARKER

CART DRIVER

CART DRIVER’S WIFE

DRACULA

BRIDE 1

BRIDE 2

BRIDE 3

PEASANT

MINA MURRAY

TRAIN CONDUCTOR

LUCY WESTENRA

MRS WESTENRA

DR SEWARD

QUINCEY MORRIS

HOLMWOOD

DOCK WORKER

SHIP’S CAPTAIN

SHIP’S FIRST MATE

DAD and SON ON CLIFF

BLOKE

BOX MAN

MARGARET

RENFIELD

PAPERBOY

DOCK BOY

Note on Play

The play is written for four actors who play forty characters. The actors play versions of themselves when they talk directly to the audience, or when they’re ‘outside of the play’. On these occasions, the names of the original actors are used in this script. But, as with place names and the name of the audience member, please adjust accordingly if you are performing this script.

The advised casting works as follows:

ACTOR 1 (Nick), Professor Van Helsing, Bride 1, Quincey Morris, Peasant, Train Conductor, Bloke, Box Man, Paper Boy

ACTOR 2 (Dan), Dracula, Dr Seward, Bride 3, Dad and Son on Cliff, Mrs Westenra, Cart Driver

ACTOR 3 (Matt), Man in DJ, Mina Murray, Holmwood, Dock Worker, Bride 2, Mrs Westenra, Ship’s First Mate, Cart Driver’s Wife, Margaret

ACTOR 4 (Al), Jonathan Harker, Lucy Westenra, Renfield, Ship’s Captain, Cart Driver’s Wife, Dock Boy

The set creates a proscenium arch with curtains and a ‘brick’ theatre back wall with a locked door. There are doors on either side of the pros. The intention is to give the impression that we are in a Victorian theatre.

In Act One, the set consists of Van Helsing’s furniture – a screen (with three doors cut into it), a cart (that doubles as a table), a wardrobe, a couple of tables and chairs, and a few tea chests.

In Act Two, the company bring on a new set they discovered behind the back wall. It consists of three painted stage flats, with a door in one.