Dark Theatre was established in Rochdale earlier this year created by Ange Shepherd and Lise Hencken. The goal of Lise and Ange was to create a theatre organisation with a difference, one that would provide a space for those that are often overlooked and under-represented.
But even more than that, they sought to bring a new style of theatre to Rochdale, theatre that pushes the boundaries, challenges views and is as far from traditional theatre as possible.
On 29 October Dark Art Theatre held their opening night of Dracula: A feminist revenge fantasy and I went along.
“Tonight there will be blood, fear, rage, laughter and naturally a vampire. But what you’re seeing is a room full of people who decided to make something together, and invited you in” — Lise Hencken
Renfield draws the audience in
From the moment you stepped into the hall, the performance had begun even before the lights had gone down. The pulsating music was dramatic and immediately made you feel uncomfortable, unsure as to what was to come.
In the corner of the stage, an actor had already started to engage the audience, drawing them in with shrieks, reaching out to try to touch them, creating a sense of menace.
We were later to find out that this was Renfield, played by Alison Hasler-O’Neil, a character that was incredibly well played. Renfield was on stage, in character for just short of three hours which is no mean feat.
Aaron George as Dracula
The stage set was incredibly simple but this allowed greater focus to be on the actors and on the story. No flash backgrounds, elaborate props or costume changes were needed here because the acting quality was superb.
Dracula was played by Aaron George and quite frankly, I can’t think of a better person to have played him, he embodied intricate mannerisms that really made you believe you were seeing THE Dracula.
But if you thought that this was a typical retelling of Dracula then you couldn’t be more wrong.
This story was about female empowerment and in line with this, we are taken on a journey where the leading ladies of Mina Harker, played by Lauren Bates, and Dr Van Helsing, played by Zoe Hughes, seek out Dracula and bring about his demise. It didn’t shy away from being violent and gory.
The feedback Dark Theatre has had from the audience has echoed my praise for the production. It was the absolute perfect way to spend the start of a Halloween weekend.
As for what comes next for the theatre company… I can’t wait to find out, count me in!
Do check out Dark Theatre on all forms of social media.
