Mark Bruce Company, Dracula

The critics couldn’t have been more complimentary. “An exemplary piece of theatre,” said the Independent. And The Observer: “Kill for a ticket!”

Dracula, the original vampire is, of course, one of those enduring myths that appeal to successive generations. Witness the current craze for all the Twilight tales and their spin offs! Mark Bruce, though, goes back to the original Bram Stoker novel, but gives it his usual spin. We first see Dracula in an introspective mood, a man given to melancholy, but whose ferocity is barely concealed and soon bursts to the surface.

Half-man, half-demon; lyricism turning into savagery – that’s Bruce’s Dracula, a creature split between his pride at his own power and his horror at what he later becomes.

For all that, Dracula – a tour-de-force performance by Jonathan Goddard – gains when compared with the human cast, the men in particular: pallid, silly, ineffectual. His very presence will tear their cosy Victorian society apart and force them to delve deep within themselves and confront the darkness inside.

This version, says The Observer, is “at heart a romance, which sees Dracula and Lucy Westen" (danced by Kirsten McGuire) "finally united in an eternity of perverse mutual desire.” It is a haunting, highly erotic and magical piece of dance theatre; and Bruce’s company of 10 dancers bring all the characters vividly to life with great artistry and complete commitment.

With an eclectic mix of music from Bach and Mozart to Ligeti and Fred Frith, Bruce explores choreographic styles ranging from the subtlety of classical etiquette to visceral contemporary dance.

Dracula is lit by Guy Hoare, designed by Phil Eddolls with costumes by Dorothee Brodrueck and puppets and masks by Pickled Image.

Mark Bruce has had a varied international career as a dancer, choreographer and director of both dance and theatre, one of the keys to his success being his profound intelligence, his original approach to his material and the sheer breadth of his interests. He is the author of a book of short stories, Blackout Zones.