DRACULA HITS THE SCARE-WAVES
TO mark Halloween, The Radioplay Hour Halloween Treat: Dracula will show tonight to a fully booked crowd at Preece House, Nerang.
Directed by local theatre guru Nathan Schulz, the intimate performance follows the story of the great vampire hunter Professor Van Helsing who plans to bring down Count Dracula.
Mr Schulz, who has been making waves – radio waves that is – said there had been a recent resurgence in the “back to the future-style shows” and the art of the radioplay was slowly making its way back into the local theatrical scene.
“We’ve had a great response from theatregoers of all ages who are enjoying this retro revival of radioplays we’re presenting across the Gold Coast,” he said.
“Since ancient times, ghost and horror stories have haunted the imagination of many cultures around the world.
“The show is a special experience that takes audiences further into the dark as the show progresses, each story stimulating the imagination.
“Listening to a radioplay aims to transport audiences to an age when radio was the heart of family life.
“In this case, the actors perform the original radioplay scripts in front of a live audience, creating all the sound effects live.
“The evening will start with the lights on with Dracula and end with a performance that takes place in total darkness, except for a flash light.
“Because the radioplays are immersive and quite intimate, small audiences –— most of the shows sell out quickly.”
Mr Schulz, who first began presenting this style of entertainment with a re-creation of the infamous radio broadcast of War of the Worlds and also A Christmas Carol in 2016, says audiences can savour the radioplays in two ways.
“They can sit in front of our radio, which is on stage in front of the players, imagining they are in their living rooms back in the 1930s or ’40s or watch the director, performers and sound effects team buzzing around in the studio,” he said.
“Basically it is an audio book performed live.”
THE ACTORS PERFORM THE ORIGINAL RADIOPLAY SCRIPTS IN FRONT OF A LIVE AUDIENCE, CREATING THE SOUND EFFECTS LIVE. DIRECTOR NATHAN SCHULZ