Episode #140
Dracula: The Last Voyage of the Demeter (Growing Theatre)
Send us Fan Mail Dracula isn’t just a castle, a cape, and a bite in the dark. Sometimes the most unsettling part is the journey, a sealed space where escape is impossible and every creak of timber sounds like a warning. That’s why we’ve fallen hard for Dracula: The Last Voyage of the Demeter, a gothic horror play that zooms in on the ship that carries Dracula towards England and asks us to live inside the dread, scene by scene, person by person. I’m joined by director Harry Quirk plus cast members Rebeka Igneczi and Soledad Strangward from Growing Theatre to talk about bringing Sean Carney’s script to the UK for the very first time. We dig into what makes this take feel fresh for Dracula fans, how the story stays tense even when you know the voyage is doomed, and why the structure feels almost like a mystery, with revelations arriving through Dracula’s point of view. Along the way we get into strong character writing for Elizabeth and Jessica, the impact of gender-blind casting, and what it’s like rehearsing a play built from tight, focused encounters rather than big ensemble blocks. We also zoom out to the wider East Anglian theatre scene: the projects that keep artists busy between shows, the value of local variety nights, and those bucket list roles we all secretly carry around. If you’re searching for East Anglian theatre recommendations, a new Dracula adaptation, or details on the Headgate Theatre in Colchester and the Maddermarket Theatre in Norwich, you’ll want this one queued up. If you enjoy the chat, subscribe, share the episode with a theatre-loving friend, and leave us a review so more people can find the podcast. Support the show
