Vampires Rock Ghost Train at the Victoria Theatre Halifax Review

Vampires Rock
Ghost Train
Victoria Theatre, Halifax

24 November 2016

www.calderdale.gov.uk/victoria

Reviewed by Deborah Banasko

I have been to the Victoria Theatre many times, located in central Halifax. There is plenty of parking either on nearby carparks or on roads adjacent to the theatre. It is a relatively small traditional theatre with a bar and snack kiosks, and the seating and room temperature are always comfortable. I have never had a bad view of the stage, such is the arrangement of the seating, and the decor of the auditorium is stunning.

This show was a complete surprise to both my friend and I as we had no pre-conceptions of what to expect. We liked vampire type movies and TV shows, and my friend especially is a huge fan of rock music so we felt it would be a good night out. I have to say we were a little embarrassed that we hadn’t heard of the show, or the lead performer Steve Steinman (who also wrote, directed and produced the entire spectacle) as he appeared to have a cult following who had clearly been to many of the previous Vampire Rock shows over the past 12 years. Many of the audience were dressed in vampire themed attire, and had a real banter with Steve whilst he made some of the jokes onstage. This did feel a little bizarre at first, but once you realised that this audience participation and him chatting with us alongside the actual storyline were part of the show, it really became fun.

The staging was simply amazing- what an effort. The curtain itself had various characters from horror movies displayed over the front, with the main stage being split over two levels to accommodate the live band and ghost-train themed set. There was real attention to detail with the lighting throughout, smoke machines and flame throwers.

The storyline revolved around Barron Von Rockula (Steve Steinman) and his vampires. His true love Pandora died 100 years ago, and he meets schoolgirl Roxy Honey-Box as she is the first to ride his ghost train. From there she is introduced to the vampire rock stars, and the Barron falls in love with her. Van Halensing is the Barron’s’ arch enemy, and wants him dead. Roxy is confused about her feelings for the Barron and Van Halensing, but soon becomes entranced by the vampire lifestyle. The plot is a little weak at times, but oddly the underlying story is not the real point of the show. This is the show you come to for outstanding rock performances, dancing and sexy vampires, balanced with light-hearted humour. The performers do not take themselves too seriously – only their singing. It really is one of those shows that you have to see to appreciate… and I would without doubt watch the sequel to this Vampires Rock show.

The opening number “Seize the Night” really wowed! The Barron sang whilst 4 female vampires danced and sang in basques; all big hair, heavy make-up and skimpy outfits. Everyone was totally in character and gave an outstanding performance.

However, after two numbers things became a little confusing as the Baron chatted between his minion and the audience. He slipped from a vampire-esque Transylvanian accent into a northern one as he chatted with us, and it took me a little while to realise that this was intentional. The plot was meant to be light-hearted with weak gags that were so poor, they were hilarious in their delivery, as he made fun of them with the audience. Towards the end he laughed with us at the tenuous links between dialogue and song. The show was quite chatty, with real audience involvement in an almost sarcastic adult-pantomime fashion. At one point an audience member got into a coffin with him! The entire auditorium absolutely adored him!

My advice would be watch the show and stick with it… once you get onboard with the intentionally weak humour and tenuous links to songs it does become hilarious. We were at a disadvantage as most of the audience seemed to understand what the show was about from the offset.

Some of the numbers covered were “Schools out for Summer”, “Don’t Stop Believin’”, “Dead Ringer for Love” and “We Will Rock You”. Hi-lights were the opening to the second half with the number “Sweet Child O’ Mine”, with an aerial artist vampire and fire breathers. The finale medley of songs was fantastic, with the entire theatre on their feet singing and dancing. However, the lead female vampire stole it for me with her stunning vocals and characterisation.

Overall this show was immensely entertaining and different from anything I have ever seen, in the best possible way. The pace was fast; there were no lulls in energy or performance level, and it was totally over the top. The comedy was wonderfully awful, and you felt like you were at a small intimate show rather than in a theatre of a few hundred people, thus was the level of audience involvement. Simply brilliant. I would give the show 4 and a half stars out of 5… perhaps the plot could have been a little stronger, although it in no way affected the enjoyment of the music.

Rating: 4.5/5

Vampires Rock Ghost Train is currently on tour, for more information and tour dates visit www.vampiresrock.com.

For other shows at the Victoria Theatre in Halifax visit www.calderdale.gov.uk/victoria.

Victoria Theatre, Fountain Street, Halifax HX1 1BP | 01422 351158