Dracula comes out of the shadows at the New Wolsey Theatre

Bram Stoker's Dracula arrives at the New Wolsey Theatre next week for a five-day run from Tuesday, 13 October to Saturday, 17 October, bringing one of the great Gothic horror stories to the stage at perhaps the most appropriate time of year.

Presented by Blackeyed Theatre, the production is adapted for the stage by Nick Lane and directed by Hal Chambers, and arrives in Ipswich following its opening run at Reading Rep.

Set in 1897 – the same year Stoker's novel was first published – the story begins at a point when Victorian Britain was undergoing enormous change.

New technology, scientific discoveries and faster communications were changing people's understanding of the world, while older beliefs, superstition and fear of the unknown remained remarkably powerful.

Into that world comes Count Dracula.

The story moves from the mountains of Transylvania to England as Jonathan Harker's encounter with the mysterious Count develops into something considerably darker. Professor Abraham Van Helsing and a small group of friends eventually find themselves fighting an enemy for whom the normal rules of life and death appear not to apply.

It is a story that hardly needs an introduction.

Irish author Bram Stoker published Dracula in 1897 and, almost 130 years later, his creation remains arguably the most famous vampire in popular culture.

The novel was not initially the extraordinary publishing phenomenon its later reputation might suggest, but Dracula's grip on the public imagination steadily grew.

The Count subsequently made the leap from page to stage and then to cinema, where portrayals by actors including Bela Lugosi and Christopher Lee helped establish the image of Dracula recognised around the world.

Since then there have been countless films, television series, plays, books, comics and reinventions of the character.

Part of Dracula's remarkable longevity is perhaps that the story has never really belonged solely to the Victorian period in which it was written.

Underneath the supernatural horror are themes of temptation, sexuality, illness, immigration, changing technology and fear of an unknown outsider. Different generations have consequently been able to find something different in it.

Blackeyed Theatre's production goes back to Stoker's original story while bringing a contemporary theatrical approach to it.

Lane's adaptation combines Victorian Gothic with modern ensemble theatre, using live performance, music, a deliberately atmospheric soundscape and innovative staging rather than attempting simply to reproduce one of the familiar screen versions.

And this Dracula is unusual in another respect: there is not just one Count.

The six-strong company sees David Chafer playing Abraham Van Helsing as well as Dracula, Richard Keightley playing Dr John Seward and Dracula, and Harry Rundle playing Arthur Holmwood and another incarnation of the Count.

Maya-Nika Bewley plays Mina Harker and Dr Hennessey, Pippa Caddick takes the roles of Lucy Westenra and Renfield, while Nicholas Prasad plays Jonathan Harker and Quincey Morris.

It gives the production a genuine ensemble feel, with the actors moving between characters rather than building the evening around a single star playing the famous vampire.

Early reviews from the production's Reading run have been positive, with particular praise for the atmosphere, music and the way the relatively small cast handles the many characters in Stoker's sprawling story.

For Ipswich audiences, its arrival could hardly be better timed.

Dracula may leave the New Wolsey a fortnight before Halloween itself, but an October evening, dark streets and one of the defining works of Gothic horror seem a fairly natural combination.

Indeed, it is difficult to think of many stories which have become more closely associated with Halloween imagery than Dracula.

Vampires existed in European folklore long before Stoker put pen to paper, but it was his novel – and the century of adaptations which followed it – that did more than almost anything else to create the vampire we recognise today.

Nearly 130 years after Dracula first appeared in print, audiences are still paying to be frightened by him.

That in itself is quite an achievement for a Victorian Count who stubbornly refuses to stay dead.

Dracula runs at the New Wolsey Theatre, Civic Drive, Ipswich, from Tuesday, 13 October to Saturday, 17 October.

Performances are at 19:00 on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, with a 14:00 Wednesday matinee. Friday's performance begins at 19:30, while Saturday has performances at 14:30 and 19:30.

There will also be a post-show discussion following the 19:00 performance on Thursday, 15 October, giving audience members the opportunity to put questions to the company.

Tickets can be booked directly through the New Wolsey Theatre website or from the theatre's box office on 01473 295900.

The New Wolsey recommends booking early, as ticket prices can increase as performances fill.

For anyone looking for an early start to Halloween this year, Dracula might be just the ticket.

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