Nosferatu at The Dukes Lancaster Review
Nosferatu
The Dukes, Lancaster
27 October 2015
Reviewed by Catherine Joyce
The Dukes is a lovely theatre in Lancaster city centre, there is a friendly atmosphere that you notice as soon as you step inside and all the staff and volunteers are very welcoming. We have been to a number of different plays at The Dukes and you can always rely on them to offer something a little different to other theatres. They are a registered charity offering the people of Lancashire the opportunity to experience a wide variety of arts and culture. The Dukes is easy to find, situated close to the centre of Lancaster with plenty of parking nearby. The car park we used cost £3.50 and was very close to the theatre.
Nosferatu, by Proper Job Theatre Co, takes the famous tale of Dracula written by Bram Stoker and focuses on the story of the voyage from Varna to Whitby. The story is set in the hour before dawn, all but three of the crew are dead and the captain is writing in his journal. The set represents the deck of the ship and we can see into the depths of the mysterious hold. Being set at night the stage is in near darkness, this is very effective but does strain the eyes a little. A fog hangs in the air and the ship’s bell rings eerily in the night.
The play explores the reactions of the crew in what seems to be a never ending nightmare as they wait for dawn to break. The captain falls back on his belief in science and rational thought whereas the other two sailors believe in God and superstition.
Fractured time is a recurring theme, are they already dead or are they still alive? Will they ever reach the shore? Will the terror ever end? It did become quite confusing!
The three actors played their roles brilliantly and were joined on stage by a cellist, who really added to the sinister atmosphere of the evening. The haunting music that she played throughout, perfectly matched the mood of the play.
Whilst not a musical, song played a strong role. Sea shanties set a nautical mood drawing the sailor’s minds away from the horrors of the night whilst more operatic pieces added to the overall drama. All the cast were accomplished singers with strong voices.
Written by Ian McMillan and directed by James Beale this play is 80 minutes long with no interval. Whilst we couldn’t fault the performances we did find the play a little hard going. The portrayals of the terrorised crew were perfect and the music and song just brilliant however we both we found the storyline too fractured and struggled to work out what exactly was going on. We left the theatre quite confused about exactly what had happened, perhaps this was deliberate or maybe we just didn’t get it?
This is a thought provoking play and is very topical with Halloween just around the corner.
Rating: 3/5
For other shows at The Dukes visit www.dukes-lancaster.org.
The Dukes, Moor Lane, Lancaster, Lancashire, LA1 1QE | 01524 598500
