Review: Dracapella, Park Theatre

Dracapella is a great title and it sums up the show pretty well. Take Bram Stoker’s classic horror story, sillify it and add singing. Turns out, it’s a pretty successful formula.

Dracula is lonely and has waited hundreds of years to be reunited with the reincarnation of his former love. So when Jonathan Harker appears at his castle in Transylvania with a photo of his wife Mina – the spitting image of the aforementioned love interest – he sets off to Whitby to find her. Chaos loosely based on the book ensues, peppered with a ton of puns from Dan Patterson (creator of Whose Line Is It Anyway? and Mock the Week) and Jez Bond (Whodunnit [Unrehearsed]).

This wouldn’t work if either the singing or the acting was bad. They are both brilliant. It’s hard to single out a performer in this small but very tight ensemble cast. Kudos to the acting of Ciaran Dowd who switches between three roles – a very entertaining Sinister (Dracula’s sidekick servant), van Helsing (verging on the manic), and Mr Watson (Lucy’s lecherous manservant). Stephen Ashfield as Harker, and Lorna Want as Mina are also excellent, both in terms of acting and singing. Keala Settle as Lucy (the actual bearded lady in the film The Greatest Showman, musical fans) is really funny, and an exceptional singer.

The show is peppered with singalong hits, all pitch perfect and beautifully rendered. Songs include Queen’s ‘Somebody to Love’, the Platters’ ‘The Great Pretender’, and Bonnie Tyler’s ‘Holding Out for A Hero’. The challenge with a jukebox musical, where they incorporate modern pop songs into a storyline rather than having an original score, is that sometimes the songs you want to include don’t really make sense in the context of the story. There are a few moments when it feels like they are shoe-horning a popular classic into a space in the tale, but for the most part they sit within the context of the plot well. Any time you start feeling over-peppered with puns, a great musical number is just around the corner.

The music and all the sound effects are provided by Alexander Belgarion Hackett, also known as ABH Beatbox. His vocal artistry is extraordinary. He’s a UK beatbox champion, performer and theatre maker, using his voice and his mic not only to accompany the songs, but to provide an astonishing array of sound effects.

A warning: if silly puns are not your thing, this show is not for you. The storyline sometimes feels like it’s hung from joke to joke rather than plot points. At times my stamina with silliness flagged, but thankfully we weren’t far from another excellent song. If you fancy the fun of a pantomime without the clichés, try this for your Christmas hit of comedy theatre. You’ll be very entertained.

Co-Written and Directed by Jez Bond
Co-Written by Dan Patterson
Produced by Park Theatre, Adam Blanshay Productions

Dracapella plays at Park Theatre until Saturday 17 January.