Stage: Bloody brilliant

Few stories have captured the imagination of the world more than Bram Stoker’s Dracula. It has been filmed more times than I care to attempt to count and staged almost as many I guess, sometime with a real respect for the original, sometimes with humour, and sometimes with no respect whatsoever – and why not, the bones, if you will forget the puns, are the life-blood of this wonderful resource that lends itself so well to theatrics.

Now Truestory Theatre, the company behind the hit show, A Christmas Carol, are returning to The Spire this Halloween with their telling of Dracula, the ultimate gothic spooky thriller. And where batter to stage it than a gothic church!
  
Artistic Director Gary Sefton says: “Working in the disused church allows us to tell a story, placing you, the audience, at it’s heart. Theatre should be something that transports you beyond the normal day-to-day, something that excites, and occasionally scares you – Dracula is a chilling thriller with plenty of frights, but at its core it’s a story of the search for love and redemption.”

A chilling thriller with plenty of frights – but a core of love and redemption

Sefton, who has adapted the script from the original Bram Stoker novel, brings his signature physical, bold and fast-paced storytelling style to the reworking. The show is an hour long, and runs twice a night for the 10-day run. 

The Spire is of course the new name for St Mark’s Chapel on Eastern Road and the aim is to bring life to the old church again as an arts and community space, even if life in this case is the tale of the un-dead!

James Turnbull adds: “We are really proud to work in East Brighton where the company is based. It’s a vibrant and diverse area of the city, but also one with areas of acute deprivation. We pull a lot of our crowds from the local area so are offering £10 tickets for those who live in BN2 5xx postcodes to make sure as many local people as possible can afford a ticket.” Prepare to be chilled and thrilled when the count comes to town.

24 Oct to 4 Nov
Suitable for brave 8 year olds and up tickets £10-£15. For more info visit www.truestory-theatre.com