DRACULA - Ou Lu
JONATHAN HARKER - Stephen Wellington
MINA HARKER - Larissa Wright
LUCY WESTENRA - Pieter Symonds
DR VAN HELSING - Vivencio Samblanco
RENFIELD - Shannon Dawson
QUINCEY MORRIS - Toby Behan
LORD ARTHUR GOLDAMING - Graham Fletcher
VAMPIRES - Natasha Purcell, Jane Casson, Prue Behan
Accompanied by the Auckland Philharmonia
"...the Count turned his face, and the hellish look that I had heard described seemed to leap into it. His eyes flamed red with devilish passion: the great nostrils of the white aquiline nose opened wide and quivered at the edge; and the white sharp teeth, behing the full lips of the blood-dripping mouth, clamped together like those of a wild beast."
From Dracula by Bram Stoker
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Theatrical ballet has reached a new vogue with the opening of the Dracula season in New Zealand. With an altogether stylish and sophisticated image, Dracula incorporates the elegance of ballet and theatrics with the verve and gothic atmosphere of the original novel. Part of the reason is intrigue - after all, how does a ghoulish blood-sucking count translate into the key character in dance? In this case, there is no doubt that Dracula and the corps de ballet are an extremely potent combination.
At times playful and charismatic, alternating with chilling and verging on the grotesque, going to Dracula was an experience in itself. The Civic Theatre provided all the atmosphere you could hope for - the theatre lending itself to dramatic balconies and art noveau beauty, a little like the manor in Eyes Wide Shut. Even the audience dressed up to the occassion, with gentlemen in full hat and cape, women in lead-white makeup and Victorian tea dresses. During the intermission, the hidden orchestra played on the mood with the Fugue in the sinister background. Indeed, the build up of suspense did not go unrewarded.
The whole performance was unnervingly flawless - the Prologue was a cinematic 'fast-forward' of the entire programme, at first eerie and haunting, before reaching a climatic frenzy. The dancers seemed to be made for their roles. Surely, as the unlikely hero of the story, the performance of Ou Lu as Dracula shone out. He was able to express the reptilian elegance of the count, while retaining the sinister and merciless characteristic of the vampire. The way he employed mechanical precision to his movement and the faultlessness of his gestures convinced you immediately that he is Dracula. A particular highlight is Dracula's dance with Jonathan Harker. The domination of Jonathan was completely masculine, though at the same time sensual. The power of both male dancers was well showcased, and an artistic foil to traditional ballet.
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Surprisingly, one other character who made a star performance was Renfield, played by Shannon Dawson. Renfield's character is most often in the background, expressed in articulate mime. Even though he plays a passive role, Renfield's astute insanity prompted sympathy, so well that it was understandable how Mina Harker pitied him. Larissa Wright plays an intelligent and passionate version of Mina Harker, outstanding in all her dances. She is equally at ease in the arms of her fiance as in her solitude, and being seduced by the determined Dracula.
All the dancers of the corps were well matched to their roles : Pieter Symonds as Lucy Westenra, and Stephen Wellington as Jonathan Harker. Their combination as performers was cohesive and flawless. The brilliant choreography was complemented by the lighting, stage setting, and costuming. Throughout the programme, the stage was bathed in shades of blue - cold cobalt to convey the hostility of Transylvania and the gothic excesses of Dracula's castle, to the pale blue of the Victorian Tea Party matching the Artic Sea. Only when Dracula was vanquished did the stage burst into full 'sunlight', sweeping the catacombs of Dracula's hiding place.
The stage setting was worthy of a first-rate movie. It incorporated the luxury and decadence of Lucy's home, as well as the ruins of Castle Dracula, merging from scene to scene so well it was almost unnoticeable. The staircase is ingeniously used as a continous prop, serving as a metaphor for Jonathan's journey to Transylvania, as well as blending in as an integral design in all the settings.
All of the costuming was stunning - it did not compromise the dancers' movements, but enhanced them, while being beautiful in their own right. The Victorian dress of the women in at the Tea Party were detailed and stylish, and the uniforms of the men were dashing. The black attire of the vampires was also beautiful, with a calculated raggedness and spare embelishment.
The support of the Auckland Philharmonic was outstanding. Throughout the night, the score had a strong thread of dark, strange melancholy with strains of violins and a scream or two. The music made the images more striking - especially the scene where Lucy, as a newly made vampire, lured a child into her arms.
The entire night of going to Dracula was beyond words. The wonderful coordination of the production, and the sustained atmosphere made it all very memorable. Undoubtedly, this was a credit to the production management , the development team and of course, the artists. Dracula was an experience in its own right, because it combined the expertise of many arts to produce a strong and vivid ballet. Unlike the movies, Dracula has an added dimension as a ballet, because you know that each performance is unique.
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Irreverent Guide
If you are ever lucky enough to be able to go to a performance of Dracula, we recommend that you do go all the way and dress in full finery. We had a brillliant time stepping out in balldresses and playing a part to the whole mood of going to the theatre. The whole performance is broken up into three acts of about 30 minutes, with two 20 minute intermissions. Any night is bound to be spectacular, but we purposely picked one of the last nights, at one of the larger venues for the ambience. Afterwards, we walked down to Borders for a late night coffee, which was great because of the rest of the people who were also there in formal dress - it felt like the performance hadn't ended yet!
The programme is well worth purchasing at NZ$10 or about US$4.50. It's a little generic and the photos are of artists in the UK version, but it includes an Act by Act synopsis, a list of the actual artists plus their biographies and membership forms for friends of the Ballet. If you intend to pick up other souvenirs, like the 'Go to the Bloody Ballet' or 'The Lead Dancer Sucks' t-shirts, get them quickly in intermission, because at the end of it all, all the RIP chocolates were gone.
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Artemesia & Endymia
24/6/2000
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Dracula