“THE STORY IS deeply spiritual and famous the world over,” says Paul Ewing, the artistic director of Ewing Entertainment Worldwide of his production of “Dracula: Blood Is Life”, which begins its three-week Bangkok run tonight.
Ewing, a former cast member of the Royal Shakespeare Company and now a resident of Bangkok, is confident that what promises to be a largely Thai audience will understand and enjoy the show.
“What I like about living in Thailand is the deeply spiritual atmosphere, which is very different from that in the West, where Christianity is still part of who we are but not quite as it used to be. That openness to spirituality and the tradition of storytelling are major parts of Thai culture,” he tells XP.
” The story of ‘Dracula’ deals with the spiritual force and the personification of evil and how it interrupts individual lives and reverberates into their society. Wherever we are or whatever culture we come from, there are issues of evil, goodness, innocence, chastity, sex, lust, romance and desire.”
Instead of British playwright Liz Lochhead’s stage adaptation, Ewing has picked American playwright Steven Dietz’s version which, he says, “sticks more to the original text [novel] by Bram Stoker. Lochhead’s is a very difficult text” and wouldn’t communicate as well with audiences in Asia.”
British director Joe Harmston, highly renowned for his West End production of August Strindberg’s “The Father” adds, “[Dietz’s version] has sheer energy driving the story through a whole series of short scenes. I think that audience members whose first language isn’t English will enjoy a clear telling of the story and actually endlessly be moved on, irrespective of whether they understand it all or not,”
Comparing “Dracula” to “The Father”, Harmston says, “The stories that I’m always attracted to are the ones that focus on human relationships and characters wrestling with the clash between their hearts and strengths and particularly social conventions. My first response when I heard Paul was doing ‘Dracula’ was ‘Really?’ as I was recollecting all those 1970s Christopher Lee movies with buckets of blood but no human connection. Then I read the novel for the very first time as well as Dietz’s play and I was struck by what it’s actually all about. There’s so much to do with the world of desires and social conventions as well as the way evil spirits find their way into human behaviour through our desires.
“Evil, as it’s portrayed here as is often the case with drama, is like a virus that develops fast in the healthiest body. Great horror movies are ones where the person next to you – usually a wonderful friend – suddenly tries to kill or rape you. That’s far more disturbing and actually more real.”
Explaining why he cast musician Chulachak “Hugo” Chakrabongse in the title role, Harmston says, “I like his artistic credentials and he’s a natural performer. It’s been an interesting voyage for him in terms of honing his [music] talents to the particular needs of this stage production, but he got every element right. We don’t want Dracula to be a cartoon character and Hugo’s appeal and subtlety as well as his rock ‘n’ roll background which genuinely connect to the darker side of the world are a perfect fit.”
As for Myra Molloy who’s portraying Lucy, he says, “I met her in London and I think she has an interesting raw talent. She’s genuinely keen to learn more. It’s been a fascinating journey with hard work for her to develop confidence to be thinking constructively about what she’s doing [creating a storytelling performance as Lucy].”
Other members include, among others, rising RSC star William Belchambers who will perform the title role this weekend, Thai actor Vin Kridakorn as Jonathan Harker, Ewing himself as Renfield, and veteran British actor Joe Dixon, who starred in Harmston’s “The Father” and the hit movie “The Mommy Returns”, as Van Helsing.
A highly anticipated theatrical event in the region, many foreign producers are flying into Bangkok, including one from the Nederlander in New York, to see if they’d like to take it further.
Ewing explains, “Horror is a part of entertainment culture in Asia. Apart from the story, which is the spine of the work, we’ve also invested a lot of time, intellect, skills and gifts in this ‘made-in-Thailand’ production to the point where we can confidently call it world-class in terms of our cast and crew. We’ve done this on purpose so as to be able to take this commercially accessible production, which is also entertaining, to other countries where the audience will be fascinated by the aesthetics of the piece.”
The creative team includes set designer Sean Cavanagh, whose credits include more than 500 productions worldwide, Knight of Illumination Award-winning lighting designer Ben Cracknell, visionary costume designer Rachael Forbes, who recently worked with Sarah Brightman on her world tour, magic consultant John Bulleid, associate of the Inner Magic Circle with Silver Star, movement director Simeon John-Wake, Tony- and Drama Desk-nominated composer Kevan Frost in addition to Thai sound designer Tada Mitrevej.
In short, “Dracula” is a must-see play. Don’t miss it.
DRINK IT IN
”Dracula: Blood Is Life” runs until March 6 at the K-Bank Siam Pic-Ganesha Centre of Performing Arts in Siam Square One.
It’s in English with Thai surtitles. Due to the content, it is not recommended for children under the age of 12.
Shows are at 7.30pm on Thursdays and Fridays, 2pm and 7.30pm on Saturdays and Sundays. There are also school matinees at 2pm on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, followed by discussions with the cast and crew.
Tickets cost Bt1,200 to Bt3,800. School matinee seats are Bt1,000 (first circle) and Bt1,850 (stall). For details, check www.ThaiTicketMajor.com.
Special this weekend only – tickets for tonight can be purchased for 50-per-cent off and 20-per-cent of for tomorrow’s and Sunday’s shows.
Find out more at www.TheDraculaShow.com.
This source first appeared on The Nation Life.