Comic twist in an eerie tale
What happens when the dark, gothic Dracula you know sets out to deliver a few laughs? We’re not sure yet, but Ananda Drama’s newest undertaking aims to do exactly that and the premise sounds exciting. Prepare yourselves for the Count as you’ve never seen him before, when ‘Dracula!’ goes on the boards of the Lionel Wendt next week.
Writers Nishantha de Silva, Rajitha Hettiarachchi and Ishtartha Wellaboda return to something they do very well with the script for this play. In 2013, their original comic adaptation of Alice in Wonderland (retitled ‘Alles in Wonderland’) captured the hearts of audiences in Colombo. Following two more productions (‘Kensuke’s Kingdom’ and the original play ‘Grease Yaka’), the writers are drawing from their creative reserves for a comic twist on Bram Stoker’s most famous work.
Dracula was published in 1897. While the concept of vampirism was nothing new at the time, Stoker is credited with defining the modern form of the vampire legend. While Dracula was not an immediate bestseller it later became a cult favourite and its success spawned a distinctive vampire genre that occupies a predominant place in the horror genre and later in supernatural romance.
While ‘Dracula!’ will stick to the gist of the original it will be a different take, say the writers and director. Count Dracula is attempting to move from Transylvania to England so that he may find new blood and spread his curse. He encounters several characters along the way, including young solicitor Jonathan Harker, Mina Murray, Dr. John Seward and Professor Abraham Van Helsing. The cast consists of just five actors, but they will take on around 10 roles each-a mammoth task. The minor characters include some newer roles that have been written in by the writers. Each actor has developed a set of triggers to keep track of the characters they play, and say that it’s challenging “in a good way”. Here they speak to us about their main, or ‘base’ character.
‘Dracula!’ directed by Thushara Hettihamu alongside its scriptwriters (with an original score by Ranil Goonewardena) is on at the Lionel Wendt from July 10 -12 at 7.30pm. Tickets and box plan available at the Wendt.
Van Helsing-Vishan
Van Helsing, a Dutch Professor, is called upon to cure the ailing Lucy Westenra (Mina’s best friend and Dracula’s first victim). He leads the fight against Dracula thanks to his knowledge of dark forces and vampire folklore. Vishan, a designer by profession, will also work on the costumes for the play and says it has been an interesting challenge to design outfits for 50 odd characters, especially when they must be versatile and easily changed. Van Helsing, a Dutch Professor, is called upon to cure the ailing Lucy Westenra (Mina’s best friend and Dracula’s first victim). He leads the fight against Dracula thanks to his knowledge of dark forces and vampire folklore. Vishan, a designer by profession, will also work on the costumes for the play and says it has been an interesting challenge to design outfits for 50 odd characters, especially when they must be versatile and easily changed. Gunawardena
Dr. John Seward-Charith Dissanayake
“Dr. Seward is an educated, nice gentleman who looks to help people,” says Charith. “He’s new to the job but his first experience turns out to be a once in a lifetime one. He gets the interesting patient and everything turns upside down!”
Pix by Indika Handuwala
Count Dracula-Nandun Dissanayake
“Dracula is a bored, thirsty bloodsucking aristocrat looking for new blood and adventure in London,” says Nandun, who will take on the title role. Dracula retains his original character traits, including control of elements, taking on many forms, and telekinetic and telepathic skills. He’s still repulsed by garlic, holy water, holy relics and sunlight.
Mina Murray-Dinoo Wickramage
“The fiancée of Harker at first appears to be your average humble, submissive 18th century lady. Yet later she surprisingly pronounces a sense of independence, intellectual curiosity, assertiveness and bravado as she attempts to find a way to cure Harker and later aids in hunting down Count Dracula himself,” says Dino. Mina eventually becomes a crucial part in the final battle against Dracula. “Her main strength I believe is the fact that she never gives up despite the patriarchal system around her that attempts to shut her out from the ongoing investigations on the victims of Dracula.”
Jonathan Harker-Eraj Gunewardena
The young man is a solicitor sent to do business with Count Dracula and he is also Mina’s fiancée. Harker is not exactly the most prolific of characters but he plays an important role as a prisoner at the castle. He is curious about the true nature of his captor and this leads him down a dark and dangerous path.