Without resorting to research (heaven forbid), I seem to recall that original author Bram Stoker's immortal creature of the night is the subject of more films and literary and stage adaptations than any other fictional character. As a fan of Dracula since childhood, each return in whatever form sparks renewed interest. Coincidently and just prior to my seeing this stage adaptation that Liz Lochhead wrote in 1985, I was given another interesting perspective called “Dracula, My Love,” by Syrie James which is told from Mina Harker's point of view. Mina, as we know, is the recently wed woman who finds herself inexplicably in the thrall of her exciting but dangerous seducer. I mention Mina's predicament only because it is the psycho-sexual aspects of this nightmarish story that dominates this plot-heavy adaptation under the somewhat plodding direction by Eda Holmes. The spare setting designed by Michael Gianfrancesco is artfully designed, with various locations created with movable curtained partitions like those in hospital rooms and moved about by the characters. The superior special effects can be credited to Alan Brodie's atmospheric lighting design and Cameron Davis’s eerie projections. What I liked best about this overly talky, almost three hours, and psychologically expository version is the visitations of Dracula's undead brides who swarm around the castle in their loose negligees looking for a night-time nibble. The acting by the principles is first-rate. Physically imposing Allan Louis would have been more chilling as Dracula if he had spent a little more time on stage and particularly on the necks of Mina (Marla McLean) and her cousin Lucy (Cherissa Richards). Graeme Somerville provides the most shivers as the demented Renfield. What could have been a supernatural feast, however, turned out to be an only occasionally sexually titillating tasting.
