dracula at the old vic

The night before last, it was the theatre. Last night, it was the ballet.

Moira+I continued our week of culture and live performance at Bristol’s Old Vic last night when we went to see “Dracula” performed by the wonderful Mark Bruce Company. I hadn’t spent my early adult years watching horror movies, but even I had a vague knowledge of the vampire legend (based on Bram Stoker’s book of the same name, first published in 1897).
I knew that last night was going to be dark, dramatic… and bloody.
In fact, it was pretty amazing. I know very little about dance, but I was completely captivated by the mesmerizing brilliance and athleticism of the dancers… it literally took my breath away at times. Jonathan Goddard as Dracula was simply superb (we’d previously seen him in HeadSpaceDance’s “If Play Is Play” in April) and Eleanor Duval, as Mina Harker, and Kristin McGuire, as Lucy Westenra, both also gave stunning performances (I was particularly captivated by McGuire’s intensely beautiful, powerful portrayal). The music was stunningly good too – ranging from the intense, painful, grating themes composed especially for this piece to traditional folk tunes, Beethoven, Bach, Schnittke and even Florrie Forde’s “Down at the Old Bull and Bush”!
Another stunning evening of live performance (the last performance at the Old Vic is on Saturday 4 October… but the tour continues to Manchester, Birmingham, London, Glasgow, Caernarfon, Ipswich, Brighton and beyond). Catch it if you possibly can.
As we walked home under a clear, half moon, black sky… I resisted the temptation the kiss Moira’s neck…