Edinburgh Fringe: Fife directorial debut brings classic Dracula story to the stage
A Fife writer, performer and director heads to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe next week with their new take on a classic tale.
Bee Parkinson-Cameron’s directorial debut at the world’s greatest arts festival brings Liz Lochhead’s take on Dracula to the stage at the Royal Scots Club on Abercromby Place (Venue 241) from Monday, August 18 to Saturday 23rd. at 7:30pm. It features a cast drawing from Fife and the central belt.
Lochhead, who was Scotland’s Makar from 2011-26, debuted her version of Dracula at the Royal Lyceum Theatre in Edinburgh 40 years ago, but it’s unique approach to Bram Stoker’s timeless story of history’s most infamous vampire is still just as fresh and relevant today.
Bee said: “After the recent success of Robert Egger’s Nosferatu, it became clear to me that this was the opportunity and the moment to bring to life in one of the largest arts festivals in the world, the wonderful, engaging and dark adaptation of Dracula by Liz Lochead.
“Dracula was a deeply disturbing, unsettling and fantastical, thrillingly erotic tale when it was released, a testament to the skill of Bram Stoker to tap into the tensions and fears of the time period. My intention in this production is to bring forth this aspect, to return this quality of disturbance back to Dracula that can sometimes be neglected for the sake of parody - amusing though they may be!
“Vampires and the appreciation of vampire lore and vampires featuring in literature, film and television has coloured many of the years of my life. I have a deep and enduring passion for the articulation and exploration of the darker elements of human existence and the moments where we brush against the preternatural.”
The cast includes many actors whose names will be familiar to regular patrons of Edinburgh theatre, but the titular role is being brought to life by newcomer Sonido Kofi Sewornu, an 18-year-old student from Perth who is studying fashion design at Glasgow School of Art.
Kofi said: “I am terrified to play this role, but I couldn’t be more excited! I hope some of that terror translates onto the stage.”
Dracula is something of a departure from the kind of productions that the Edinburgh Makars have usually put on at the Fringe, but president John Scott Moncrieff and the rest of the club’s committee were convinced by Bee’s enthusiasm for the project.
Bee added: “I hope that you will enjoy the invitation we extend to you to join us in this exploration of the insidious nature of gothic horror and of Dracula himself, a titan of vampire lore whose shadows are still creeping over and caressing our souls and our fears.”
The cast is Sonido Kofi Sewornu, Craig Gell, Phillipa Roy, Bunny Steven, Chris Eyett, Emma Swift, James Gray as Renfield, James Cameron, Liza Greenhalgh, Carol Davidson, Georgia Smith and Ben Carey
The Makars was founded in 1932 by Christine Orr, the well-known Scottish actress, broadcaster and playwright, with the intention of performing her own plays. During the winter of 1933/34 the name "The Makars" was adopted - an old Scots word for the makers of poetry and drama.
The present club was formed in May 1996 by the amalgamation of two long standing Edinburgh drama clubs - The Makars and Davidson's Mains Dramatic Club (DMDC). In 2002 the new club formally adopted the name The Edinburgh Makars.
Previous Fringe productions have included Amy’s View by David Hare, A Comedy of Tenors by Ken Ludwig, Barefoot in the Park by Neil Simon and the five-star production of Perfect Wedding by Robin Hawdon.