In the same way that everyone sees something different in an inkblot, people want different things from their theatre-going experiences. If you’re someone who likes to have a lot of background on what the experience will be like before you come to the theatre, read on. This page focuses on CONTENT INFORMATION.
There may be some low-key spoilers ahead.
Return to the main DRACULA page for schedule and ticketing information
WHAT HAPPENS?
THEMES: Victorian-era horror, The beast within, the nature of good and evil, female subjugation, female empowerment, subversion of the male imagination, societal restrictions.
Award-winning playwright Kate Hamill cleverly updates Bram Stoker’s classic novel with contemporary commentary. Newlywed Mina Harker is drawn into a nightmarish world of dark mysteries when her husband Jonathan travels to Transylvania to work with a new client – Count Dracula. When the powerful Count narrows his predatory gaze on beautiful young Lucy, Mina teams up with vampire hunter Doctor Van Helsing to drive a stake through the heart of this legendary monster.
Here’s what the New York times said of the premiere production in 2019:
“The world women inhabit in this loose, rollicking adaptation of Bram Stoker’s novel is frightening precisely because it’s not so different from our own… It scares us not with monsters, though it certainly has those, but with the sinister prospect of women’s dehumanization at the hands of men empowered by law and intractable custom. Hamill’s “Dracula” is about the expectation that women will bend themselves to the rigid frame of ladylike behavior, no matter how it deforms them.” – NY Times
IS THIS PLAY FUNNY OR SAD OR WEIRD OR WHAT?
Yes.
As with a lot of the work Rorschach chooses, DRACULA explores a range of human (and supernatural) experiences. Like the novel and the many previous adaptations of Dracula this play has some dark themes, violence, death, and some sexy bits. It is scary, funny, exciting, and thought-provoking. Unlike the novel, this adaptation focuses on the female journey and subverts the original source’s Victorian sensibilities.
IS THIS PLAY GOING TO BE APPROPRIATE FOR MY MOM/KID/PASTOR/CO-WORKER/1ST DATE?
“Appropriate” is a relative word, but here are a few things to know when deciding who to bring to the theatre with you:
We recommend our audiences be 13+
LANGUAGE: there are a few four-letter words but the language is pretty tame.
SEXUAL CONTENT: There are some sexually suggestive moments, some passionate embraces, and a fair amount of biting.
VIOLENCE: There are a number of moments of staged violence, including blood and knives. There is a suicide that is heard but not seen. There are offstage murders and onstage ones. Babies are murdered offstage. There are depictions of physical and emotional abuse.
If you have any questions about content, please email us at info@rorschachtheate.com.
HOW LONG IS IT?
About 2 hours and 15 minutes + one 15-minute intermission.
