DRACULA more than just trick, but a real treat!

We all have our ‘die hard’ favorites as fans of certain Plays/Stories, artists and production companies… we anticipate with excitement each and every time they are to deliver a new release…either in music, film and in theatre, we know we are going to see it no mater what it is. Having seen all their work (except Heaven) Monster being my personal favorite, this is the case for me with Frances Balenzano’s Fallen Angle Productions. Now becoming a staple of the Montreal ‘Halloween’ season, Fallen Angle presents another haunting seasonally appropriate production “Dracula” playing at the Monument National studio until November 8.  

It was nice to finally see one of their productions in a space deserved of the caliber of what they can present. Frances Balenzano (director) utilizes the space to the maximum and directs the cast to maintain a subdued tone throughout avoiding the temptation and any risk of leaning towards camp humor; although I did hear the occasional chuckle from some audience members of the sold out crowd… this could be attributed to nervous laughter. Very good to moderate performances are delivered from a large ensemble of thirteen (13) local young talents. The two gargoyles (Christopher Hicks, Samuel Chan) are a clever creative touch, adding to the ambience of the space and time as living set design. A few scenes are blocked in too far DS however, forcing us to twist in our seats to see the action; possibly this was intentional. Costumes are all well designed and intention selection thought out.

Paul Van Dyck is a convincing Dracula brilliantly portrayed through his physicality, makeup and vocal tone; however attentioin needs to be made increase his projection, we do miss some of his text especially when delivered US.

Alison Louder (Mina) is perfectly cast and plays her role to the ‘T’ not giving in to the typical submissive characterization of young women of the period she holds her own, and our attention, amongst the strong male characters on stage.

Shawn Baichoo provides the most polished performance as Van Helsing. Obviously one of the more vetted performers of the ensemble, he is spot on in both voice and tone, delivering a stand out portrayal of the role and rallying the other characters throughout each scene he is in.

The Play does run long at over two and half hours and it also has a late start at 8:30pm, so be prepared for a late night out. The pacing was somewhat ‘off’ the night I attended with some lines obviously flumped and audibly dropped or miss-queued. A lot of time is spent waiting to get to the next special effect or blood splatter moment. The biggest problem I had with this production, as did others that were seated around me, were the never ending lighting black outs, especially in Act 1, and the timing of some of them. Usually used to denote a change in time and/or change of location, they were superfluous and only added to the length of the running time of the production. As an audience member I don’t mind seeing a few scene changes with props being moved around; when there were so many other possible distractions available to divert our attention in the space like with the use of the gargoyles and vixen vampires many of these black outs could have been avoided cutting down the length of the play.

You too will become a 'fan'... If you can still get a ticket?
Dee Arr recommends you Go C it!