An evening of gothic chills with the Prince of Darkness

DRACULA will be dropping in to Newcastle this May and is set to spook a few people as he lurks in the shadows of the Castle Keep.

Newcastle’s medieval tower is to play host once again to the sharp-toothed villain for four nights of horror.

A performance of Dracula will run there from May 23-26, with the grisly tale based on Bram Stoker’s vampire playing out in the kind of immersive promenade performance which has proved so popular at the Keep in the past.

Audiences will follow the story through the building – which will become Dracula’s castle – and find themselves up close and personal with all the blood-sucking action.

The gothic horror, directed by University of Sunderland drama graduate Kylie Archer and third year film and media student Tom Hagel of Broken Mask theatre company, will begin with a young solicitor arriving at Dracula’s grand estate to finalise some details of the Count’s imminent move to London.

But he will then discover that the castle holds deep secrets and that his host is not quite the man he first appeared to be. And, as audiences follow the ensuing drama, they will encounter some twists and turns along the way.

There will be 10 cast members in the production, including 24-year-old Tom himself who both wrote it and stars in it as Jonathan Harker, with Kylie playing Mina Harker, and he said: “We have obviously had to adapt things to make sure the scenes fitted within the rooms of the Keep.

“When the audience is moving from room to room, there will be some lighting to make sure they do so safely – the lights will go out when they are static.”

He added: “This is the first walkthrough style play we have put on and we have had to take a lot more things into consideration compared to a seated production.”

Kylie, also 24, who works part time as an English tutor when not directing her plays, added: “Dracula is a beautiful piece of gothic horror and, from a director’s point of view, doing it in this style has proved a challenge but one we have really enjoyed.”

The Keep has proved an atmospheric setting for the famous vampire in the past and last year it also screened Francis Ford Coppola’s 1992 film version, starring Keanu Reeves, in its Great Hall to mark the 120-year anniversary of the Bram Stoker classic.

The upcoming play is set to prove a similar fast sell-out and will no doubt send a few more shivers down the spine at the sight of the cloaked figure looming in tucked-away corners and around twisting steps.

Performances will start each evening at 6.30pm.

NEWCASTLE’S CASTLE KEEP IS SETTING FOR SPOOKY PLAY. BY BARBARA HODGSON