Is Dracula an antihero? Kip Williams prepares to farewell STC with bite

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Zahra Newman is describing the nightmare she had past night. For idiosyncratic who is successful the mediate of rehearsing Dracula, it is not the blood-soaked nightmare 1 would expect. Nor bash her teeth (or should that beryllium fangs?) autumn retired successful an anxiety-riddled fever dream.

“I thought I’d learnt the full play,” she says. “But then, actually, I realised that I lone learnt Harker. That was my nightmare past night, that really we were getting to tech and it was like, ‘No, Zahra, there’s a full other bit. There’s 3 quarters of a play to go.’”

Zahra Newman (with prosthetic dentistry) is starring successful Sydney Theatre Company’s Dracula.

As Newman recounts her dream, manager Kip Williams chuckles away. Dracula is the last portion successful his Sydney Theatre Company Gothic trilogy, which started with The Picture of Dorian Gray successful 2020, and continued with 2022’s Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. Like those 2 productions, Dracula is besides adapted from a Victorian classical – Bram Stoker’s 1897 caller – and it deals with the monster that lurks wrong america all.

“Dorian is precise overmuch astir the narration that an idiosyncratic has with themselves and however they navigate that interior dialog and explicit it successful the nationalist sphere,” says Williams. “Jekyll is precise overmuch astir the compartmentalisation of aforesaid and those uncommon friendships that you find wherever you tin explicit yourself authentically.

“And Dracula is overmuch much astir the constituent of yourself that you privation to deny, that you’re acrophobic of existing wrong you. And that quality improvement wherever we instrumentality that fearfulness and task it into a monster, and question to decision the monster. And successful doing so, say, ‘Therefore, that happening is not wrong me.’”

The brace are sitting successful the prima during their luncheon interruption from rehearsals – there’s nary method acting here, dissimilar Dracula, Newman’s powers bash not diminish successful daylight. It’s 2 weeks until opening nighttime successful what volition beryllium a bittersweet infinitesimal for Williams: Dracula is not lone the decision of his trilogy, it is besides the last amusement helium volition constitute and nonstop arsenic artistic manager of the STC.

Zahra Newman and Kip Williams successful rehearsals for Dracula for the Sydney Theatre Company.

“I’m successful denial astir leaving, but precise excited to spot who the adjacent idiosyncratic is going to be,” says Williams, who was appointed arsenic creator manager successful 2016. “And to spot what astonishing things they do. And hopefully, they’ll person maine back, from clip to time.”

As a farewell piece, Dracula slots perfectly into Williams’ assemblage of work: a knotty portion of Victorian lit that inactive has plentifulness to accidental to a modern audience.

“It’s rather absorbing that the fig that has been taken to bosom implicit decades and the century-plus since is the monster,” says Williams. “That the monster’s benignant of go culturally the antihero. That’s the fig that radical connected immoderate level – that Stoker posited arsenic a monster and thing to beryllium feared – but really thing that radical person been drawn to. And that’s astir apt the portal done which we participate into a peculiar exploration of the communicative … [Dracula] he’s an antihero, of sorts.”

For a speedy recap, Stoker’s communicative begins with young British solicitor Jonathan Harker travelling to Transylvania to conscionable with a client, Count Dracula. But what starts arsenic a elemental spot transaction (“there was concern to beryllium done, and I could let thing to interfere with it”), ends with Harker being seduced by 3 vampire brides and trapped successful the castle. Count Dracula, meanwhile, departs for England.

Zahra Newman volition play much than 10 roles successful Dracula, which is adapted from Bram Stoker’s 1897 classic.

The communicative is told done a bid of letters, diary entries and telegrams and is the starting constituent for a full genre of lit and film, from Nosferatu done to the sexy vampires of True Blood, the twinkly emo bloodsuckers of Twilight and Sesame Street’s numbers-obsessed Count Dracula.

But wherever galore critics person interpreted Stoker’s enactment arsenic either fearfulness implicit Eastern Europeans invading the West oregon an exploration of suppressed intersexual desire, Williams has taken a somewhat antithetic view.

“One of the ideas that interests us, and has surely governed the adaptation of the work, is the thought that monsters and vampires, being a benignant of iconic, mythological monster, are often projections of things that we fearfulness wrong ourselves,” says Williams. “And peculiarly successful Stoker’s novel, that happening often is astir desire. And, successful presumption of wherever Stoker arrives astatine the extremity of the novel, helium wants to vanquish the monster … [but for us] determination is simply a existent consciousness of a antithetic position connected who Dracula is.”

For Newman, she considers her Dracula arsenic a antheral of “permission”.

“My Dracula is idiosyncratic who is perceived arsenic being thing and that is not needfully the full information of who that idiosyncratic is,” she says. But besides similar a idiosyncratic of permission, much than conscionable a fixed idea, similar fear.”

Newman plays, she thinks, astir 10 characters – she’s mislaid way – from Dracula, to Harker, the vampire brides, arsenic good arsenic Harker’s fiancee Mina and the legendary vampire huntsman Van Helsing to sanction a few. And, similar Dorian and Jekyll, it volition beryllium presented arsenic cine-theatre, with Newman interacting with unrecorded cameras connected signifier and pre-recorded video pieces.

“The narration to the surface is precise antithetic successful this piece, rather radically antithetic from the different two,” says Williams. “And the surface operates overmuch much arsenic a spot of representation and overmuch much arsenic a benignant of intelligence scenery that sits successful absorption to the quality and to the performer.

“And that truly feels similar the conflict of the portion betwixt these characters and their minds. Because Dracula, successful immoderate ways, is simply a existent fig successful the story, but the vampire is simply a instauration of our minds.”

And portion Williams and Newman are loath to springiness excessively overmuch distant – they support asking each different “can we accidental that” – I get a motion erstwhile I inquire astir coffins and, maybe, a bloody, gory end.

As helium prepares to wrapper up his trilogy, what does Williams deliberation the 3 productions accidental astir him?

“Lay down connected the couch, laic it each out,” Newman, says laughing, conscionable arsenic Williams lowers his caput and whispers, “I don’t know.”

“I truly privation an assemblage to find their ain consciousness of the meaning of it,” says Williams “I was successful a spot of an limb wrestle earlier this week with our superb squad members successful the selling team, astir my director’s note. I said, ‘Do I person to constitute one?’ Because I truly bash privation an assemblage to find their ain idiosyncratic mentation of it.”

Does helium privation the assemblage to find and judge their ain monster within?

“Maybe to person embraced it,” helium decides. “And to possibly not spot it arsenic a monster.”

Dracula is astatine Roslyn Packer Theatre from July 2 until August 4.