Dracula
Review by Sam
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Bram Stoker’s classic vampire novel is cinematically brought to life by Cynthia Erivo in Kip Williams latest theatrical undertaking.
Following his highly acclaimed Olivier and Tony Award winning one-woman production of Dorian Gray, Williams returns to the West End with the Oscar nominated Erivo making her long-awaited return to the London stage. Tackling a 20,000-word script with no interval is no easy feat, so the occasional slip ups are to be expected, but Erivo manages to whizz through the material at a whistle stop speed, engrossingly taking the audience through the story without so much as a beat to breath. The production is incredibly magnetising with Erivo commanding every inch of the stage in a blink and youll miss it performance. The auteur directing of Williams is on full display, showcasing once again the unique and highly original theatrical experience his productions can be, as his cast craft a cinematic experience live on stage night after night.
Unfortunately, due to the recent global success of Dorian Gray, Dracula inevitably draws comparisons to Williams last outing, and whilst the production is good, it lacks the small sparks of magic which the previous production offered. There is far more pre-recorded scenes/dialogue in Dracula, and Erivo comparatively to Snook delivers a far less varied performance failing to distinctly realise each character in the same way that her counterpart so sucessfully did. It could be said that due to the source material and similar production style the variation is notably less, but Erivo still manages to command the stage in a true tour-de-force production that whilst lacking the ‘wow’ factor of Snooks performance, still defies gravity to amaze.
Dracula is a wildly entertaining night of theatre unlike anything else in the West End today, combining incredibly unique direction with a good performance from Erivo, leaving plenty for audiences to sink their teeth into. Kip Williams cements himself once again as a truly exciting director whose experimental, cinematic theatre is extremly thrilling to witness first hand and should be seen to be believed.