Dracapella – Park Theatre, London

A light-hearted, musical adaptation of the classic vampire tale, Dracapella promises to be an entertaining, non-traditional seasonal show. But does it deliver?

Dracapella

Dracula, in its original form by Bram Stoker, is an intriguing work. It’s late for Gothic horror, first published in 1897. It has modern flourishes that seem somehow out of place: a Kodak camera, blood transfusions, typewriters, modern transportation methods. The clash between modernity and transition is one of its themes, as are good vs. evil, sexuality and repression, invasion and xenophobia. The work originated, of course, many of the tropes of later vampire fiction. A great many seams to mine for those considering an adaptation.

Dan Patterson (creator of Whose Line Is It Anyway? and Mock The Week) and Jez Bond, who also directs, have chosen this source material for their off-beat musical comedy, Dracapella. It doesn’t get far below the surface to those interesting seams, however, preferring puns, one-liners, and a jukebox musical approach. The story does stick largely to the original. Harker (Stephen Ashfield) heads off to Transylvania to conclude a real estate transaction for Count Dracula (Ako Mitchell). Dracula races him back to England at a certain point and runs amok once there. His reason for going is different – Harker’s wife Mina (Lorna Want) is the spitting image of his lost love Ilona. Can they be reunited and break the curse, or will Harker and Van Helsing (Ciarán Dowd) prevail, and end the reign of terror?

A solid story, then. With a few of the usual characters rounding out the cast (Philip Pope as Holmwood and Seward, Keala Settle as Lucy Westenra) and some additions for comedic effect (Dowd and Monique Ashe-Palmer as Dracula’s servants Sinister and Pustula). The acapella angle is also fresh and interesting: the entire soundscape is produced by the human voice in the form of ABH Beatbox (Alexander Belgarion Hackett). His range of effects is impressive, and the interplay between that and the actors’ miming is a cornerstone of the work’s physical comedy.

Ballads and Bawdy Word Play

Notwithstanding these promising elements, Dracapella didn’t quite work for me. The musical numbers, while often impressive, were only tenuously linked to the plot, and inconsistent in terms of style. I love an 80s power ballad and would have preferred if they were all of that genre. They did give some of the excellent singers amongst the cast a good chance to show off their talents: Settle, Want and Ashfield chief amongst them. But Dracapella began to feel, over its two hour running time, like an pretext to put together as many puns, plays on words, and misunderstandings as possible. At first this was amusing. By the interval, it was starting to drag. I rallied a bit in the second half, thanks to the cast’s energy, Dowd’s comedic timing, and a very silly costume for Settle.

And it’s not that I don’t enjoy very silly plays from time to time. I laughed until I cried watching Tony! [The Tony Blair Rock Opera] in this very theatre. I just wanted a bit more to the humour than I felt on this occasion. The seating might have something to do with it: with a high-up, side-on view I missed a few of the gags. Those up close seemed to be enjoying themselves very much. Perhaps that’s a good tip if you’re planning to see it for yourself.

Dracapella does have its moments. That very silly costume towards the end was probably my highlight: I won’t spoil what it is, you’ll have to go see it for yourself. The majority of the cast I would like to see again, there are some very talented performers amongst them. For those looking for something different this Christmas season, this offering certainly fits the bill. Just sit close to the action, and get ready for a lot of word play and beatboxing wizardry.

Salterton Arts Review’s rating: 3/5

Dracapella on until 17 January 2026. More info and tickets here.