Dracula gets a glam-rock makeover at Arts Club's gender-bent comedy production
Synthia Yusuf stars as a Bowie-esque Dracula in a new adaptation of Bram Stoker's classic, running Oct. 22–Nov. 15 at Granville Island.
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Dracula gets a glamorous rock-star makeover in the Arts Club's new production opening October 22 at the Lindsay Family Stage on Granville Island.
Director Josh Epstein's adaptation of Bram Stoker's Gothic classic teams up with a production that revels in theatrical spectacle and absurdist humour. Synthia Yusuf takes on the title role, transforming the sinister count into a seductive heartthrob with what Epstein calls a "high-style Victorian Gothic fever dream." Dracula, he says, has "a masculine-feminine quality, a feminine masculinity, that's in the glam-rock tradition. It's a little bit Bowie-esque. Dracula is a bit of a rock star, and we found the right person to play the role."
Yusuf's casting was no afterthought. "It's not a bit. We're not playing it as a joke. It's a serious artistic choice. Synthia auditioned for the role against hundreds of other people and won it," Epstein said. Yusuf recently appeared in the Arts Club's production of Frozen and in Gateway Theatre's Wildwoman earlier this year.
Written by American playwrights Gordon Greenberg and Steve Rosen (Crime and Punishment, a Comedy), the play combines Mel Brooks–style parody with Monty Python–inspired absurdity and physical comedy. Five actors portray 16 characters through rapid-fire costume changes and deliberately exposed theatrical trickery. Kate Besworth, Steffanie Davis, Jeff Meadows and Vincent Tong round out the cast. The adaptation transforms Stoker's hero into a coward and the damsel in distress into a woman eager for adventure, with a love triangle that Epstein finds particularly compelling.
Epstein, who recently took on the role of executive director of the Whistler Film Festival, notes that Vancouver has deep talent in comedy. "There aren't many opportunities to do big comedy, and the amount of high-end talent being submitted for these projects was overwhelming. I could have cast these shows five times over with the talent pool in Vancouver."
Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors opened off-Broadway at New York's New World Stages in September 2023, running for four months before closing in January 2024. The production was originally commissioned by Florida's Maltz Jupiter Theatre.
Tickets start at $29 through artsclub.com or 604-687-1644. The show runs through November 15.
The details
When does this production run?
Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors runs from October 22 through November 15 at the Lindsay Family Stage on Granville Island.
Who plays Dracula?
Synthia Yusuf stars as Dracula, portraying the count as a seductive, Bowie-esque rock star with a blend of masculine and feminine qualities.
How much do tickets cost?
Tickets start at $29 and can be purchased through artsclub.com or by calling 604-687-1644.
Who wrote this adaptation?
American playwrights Gordon Greenberg and Steve Rosen wrote the play, combining Mel Brooks–style parody with Monty Python–inspired absurdity.
