An actor is bringing his one-man Dracula show to the stage in Lichfield – but insists the production will explore the popular tale in a new light.
James Gaddas will bring the popular story to the Lichfield Garrick on 20th February.
Despite the many versions on stage and screen of Bram Stoker’s classic story, the 61-year-old star says that while many may think they know all there is to know about details of Dracula, the truth may be very different.
“Who can actually admit that they’ve read every page of it – the whole novel from cover to cover? Very few, I suspect.
“It’s a bit like Lord of the Rings, isn’t it? A book that we all owned as teenagers where we probably read a couple of chapters before it ended up on the shelves again, or used as a convenient doorstop.
“Both are quite a chore to wade through. Doing so is a strange badge of literary honour.
“What we truly know it from, or our acquaintance with the legend, is through the scores of versions that have been made for the screen.”
James Gaddas
James reveals he has consumed the Bram Stoker’s 1897 masterpiece in preparation for taking his show on the road across the UK.
The project was developed during lockdown as the actor joined other performers facing a lack of creative outlets due to Covid.
He turned to the tale of Dracula and began to create his own take on the familiar tale – while also being aware of what post-pandemic restrictions might mean for the stage productions.
“If I was going to bring everything on the page to the theatre, we’d all be sitting indoors for about 15 hours – I had to go for another angle and to do quite a lot of filleting on the original text. I had to have a very different take on it.
“If it was going to be done conventionally, then I’d have to get together a cast of a dozen or more, all of them playing multiple roles. Was that going to happen after lockdown was lifted?
“The theatre being in the state that it is these days, slowly getting back to life again and with strict budgeting, the answer was obviously going to be ‘no’.”
James Gaddas
As a result, the one time Hollyoaks, Emmerdale and Heartbeat actor took the decision to take on all 15 parts of his show himself.
The result, James says, is a production created with the aid of family and professional colleagues that will “re-imagine” the popular story.
“I really do get so annoyed with the schlock versions of it – just as I get really uncomfortable with those horror movies that are so predictable that as soon as you see the characters involved, you know with a certainty who is going to get attacked or terminated before the first 20 minutes is out.
“For me, it’s the suspense that makes the drama, the unknown around the corner. And I hope that everyone will find that I have been true to that intent.”
James Gaddas
Tickets for Dracula at the Lichfield Garrick on 20th February are £21 and can be booked online.
