Review: Dracula: Lucy’s Dream, Lennox Theatre at Pleasance

What better way to evoke the liminal space between the living and the dead than with puppets, who are neither, but sit somewhere in between? In Dracula: Lucy’s Dream, Yngvild Aspeli’s French/Norwegian company Plexus Polaire deliver a masterclass performance, enacting a hypnotic, living nightmare as the central character, Lucy, is overwhelmed by the vampire by night and struggles to maintain her true self in waking hours. It’s an astonishing production that uses world-class puppetry and meticulously choreographed performance to put the role of the female victim front and centre, articulating her struggle and exploitation through every dramatic means. 

The whole is visually stunning, with abstract and shifting projected backgrounds (David Lejard-Ruffet) suggesting gothic windows and shattered glass or a dark forest, with the fluidity and hallucinogenic style of a lava lamp. Emilie Nguyen’s precision lighting design creates an opportunity for impressive deception, embracing the magic of the dark and hiding truths within it. Characters often appear in multiple places at the same time, creating an unsettling illusion and demanding a suspension of disbelief that leaves one anxiously questioning reality. 

The puppets, crafted by Yngvild Aspeli, Manon Dublanc, Pascale Blaison, Elise Nicod, Sébastien Puech and Delphine Cerf, are simply incredible, of full human size and perfectly weighted to give a sense of a debilitated body, while additionally deeply sensual and erotic: this is craftsmanship at its finest. Skilful manipulation from the team of talented, tightly choreographed performers (Dominique Cattani, Yejin Choi, Sebastian (Tato) Moya, Marina Simonova, Kyra Vandenenden [alternating with Cristina Iosif]) seamlessly shifts impressions of life between human and object. At times, the puppets are performed as individual limbs, emphasising the sense of dislocation in Lucy’s mind. Their use gives coherence to a half-remembered dream, just out of reach and temporally insecure, and visibility to ideas of manipulation and power. Even simple bats on wires are brilliantly effective, fluttering out of the dark – a chilling reminder of the presence of the otherwise unseen bloodsucker. The animalistic level of the vampire’s bloodlust then spills out into weird enactments of spiders, with the image of the web a strikingly impressive reminder of Lucy’s captive status.

The music, by Ane Marthe Sørlien Holen, is utterly intoxicating, drawing us deeply into the thrilling, disjointed scenario. It’s immensely evocative and additionally gives important structure to Lucy’s abstract, bewildering experience.

Dracula: Lucy’s Dream is a masterpiece of performance that should not be missed. It offers a bizarrely beautiful, thrilling, chilling experience that will take your breath away – but hopefully not your last gasp…

Director: Yngvild Aspeli
Music Composer: Ane Marthe Sørlien Holen
Puppet Builders: Yngvild Aspeli, Manon Dublanc, Pascale Blaison, Elise Nicod, Sébastien Puech, Delphine Cerf
Scenography: Elisabeth Holager Lund
Video Designer: David Lejard-Ruffet
Costume Designer: Benjamin Moreau
Lighting Technician: Emilie Nguyen
Dramaturge: Pauline Thimonnier
Assistant Director: Thylda Barès, Aitor Sanz Juanes

Dracula: Lucy’s Dream plays at Lennox Theatre at Pleasance at EICC until Friday 29 August as part of Edfringe.