THE YOUNG OXTED PLAYERS present
“Dracula – The Final Countdown!” by Geoff Bamber
Director: Chris Bassett
16th and 17th March 2018 (3 performances)
Read through: Sunday 1 October at 5.45 pm, Barn Theatre Oxted – further information contact [email protected]
Auditions: Sunday 15 October (2.30 pm) Barn Theatre, Oxted
Synopsis
Scene 1 - York: The Parlour of Peter Hawkins Esq., Solicitor
Jonathan Harker, newly-qualified but not over-ambitious solicitor is employed by Peter Hawkins of Hawkins, Hawkins, Hawkins, Hawkins and Lathrop. Harker is loosely engaged to his employer’s daughter, Wilhelmina (Mina). Mina feels that her fiancé needs to establish himself professionally by impressing her father, a no-nonsense Yorkshireman with no time for “lah-di-dah” southerners. She is also keen to match the ambitions of her close friend, Lucy, a proto-type WAG who is currently narrowing down her own shortlist of potential husbands and seems to have settled on psychiatrist, Andrew Remington.
Scene 2 - Transylvanian Village Inn:
Harker finds himself despatched to Transylvania to sort out a property deal for a mysterious Dr. Acula - evidently some sort of physician. Having been confronted by a village full of inbred gargoyles, keen to regale him of bloodthirsty local tales, mostly featuring a Count Dracula (obviously no relation), the Count’s hideous assistant Igoretta, bats, wolves and lots of blood, Harker meets the aforementioned Igoretta and makes his way to Castle Dracula.
Scene 3 - Castle Dracula
When Harker meets the Count and realises that that he has been the victim of a misprint, he is so charmed by his welcome that he fails to realise that he has become something of a prisoner. Harker’s plight is made more acute by the attentions of the Brides of Dracula, a trio of voracious females, who appear to have less than honourable intentions. With the improbable assistance of Igoretta, Harker escapes and returns to England.
Scene 4 - Whitby Harbour
Harker, though clearly traumatised, is now sent to Whitby in Yorkshire to look into the legal ramifications of a shipwreck. The ship’s crew have fallen victim to carnivorous attack and the only survivor is a cabin girl who suggests that something distinctly canine was involved. Furthermore the ship’s log reveals that the cargo came from…Transylvania! Harker hopes that the arrival of Mina and Lucy, looking for a weekend at the seaside, will not get in the way of what has now become a sinister investigation. Doctor Andrew Remington has also been called in to look into the whole grisly business. Remington, in turn, calls in his old university mentor, Professor Van Helsing, an expert on vampires. Trying to keep out of Harker’s way, Mina and Lucy find themselves in the charming company of a mysterious foreign gentleman.
Scene 5 - The Yorkshire Moors
Inevitably Mina and Lucy go missing. Count Dracula is now in England and roaming the moors of darkest Yorkshire. Harker and Remington set out on a desperate rescue mission. Their quest is obstructed by Dracula’s Brides, Igoretta, an army of zombies and Dracula himself. Professor Van Helsing’s specialist knowledge will only get Harker and Remington so far. The rest is up to them. There is too much at stake for them to fail. (Geddit? Stake? Dracula? Oh, suit yourselves).