Review: DRACULA - A COMEDY OF TERRORS is a laugh a minute

DRACULA - A COMEDY OF TERRORS is fast-paced and packed full of jokes. It's an absolutely hilarious re-imagining of the classic story featuring a cast with some excellent comic timing. Director Wayne Hendricks and Milnerton Players should be very proud of what they've put together with this production.

This play is the classic tale of Bram Stoker's Dracula, but it features quite the comedic change. Firstly, you can clearly see the influence of the comedy styles of the likes of Monty Python and Mel Brooks. Secondly, you only have 5 actors playing all of the characters. This leads to some hilarious moments. My favourites being when Grace Brain ran off the stage screaming, the scream continued across behind the stage and finished the moment she stepped onto the other side of the as a different character - it was perfectly timed. Then there was Kyle McLachlan playing multiple characters in one conversation, switching between hats and accents to denote each one. I'm pretty sure I spotted a laugh on the actor's face as he made his way through the dialogue, and I don't blame him!

The entire cast, which included Grace Brain, Kyle McLachlan, Jasmine Hazi, Ingrid Penzhorn and James Lister, was great. They kept the pace, the energy and the character changes coming at you with style. They clearly gelled together because their comic timing with each other was spot on.

The set from York Froon was also good fun. For the most part, you simply had black cloth creating a very basic box. However, parts of the walls folded out to suddenly show a pop of colour and to create the two bedrooms that were needed. It was simple but effective, allowing the actors to create the colour and the crazy through their characters.

The one thing that needed to be thought out a bit more though was the participation packs. They looked amazing, in the shape of little coffins. The problem was, you weren't encouraged to use the items in the pack. Someone on stage needed to tell you what to get out when and why, otherwise you've got people scrabbling in the dark trying to see what comes next and trying to figure out what to do with the item. This took me away from enjoying the show.

Aside from that minor detail, I had a thoroughly good laugh at DRACULA - A COMEDY OF TERRORS. The production continues its run until 7 September. Tickets are available via the Milnerton Playhouse website.

Photo credit: supplied

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