Dracula’s: Retro Vampt
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Dracula’s: Retro Vampt

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“We’ve gone all ’70s glam retro,” announces Stewart Diamond, performer at Dracula’s theatre-restaurant. He’s talking about Dracula’s new show in MICF, Retro Vampt, a ‘tripnotic journey of psychedelic variety acts’ including burlesque, acrobatics, stand-up, puppetry and lots of wonderful ’70s live music. “We open with a Clockwork Orange-inspired piece; our opening act is very cool,” says Diamond, who hosts the show. “There’s comedy, burlesque, a lot of music in this one – great songs throughout, we do songs from Bowie, big disco numbers like I Will Survive, and we end with a big disco finale. And there’s a disco ball. It’s a ’70s based theme show but nothing like your juke box ’70s show with the same old songs. We still have a dark edge, we’re still vampires. Only it’s a different version of vampiredom, we’ve taken it to different level.”

Beat’s been to one of Dracula’s shows before, and if by chance you have any preconceived ideas about this sort of entertainment being anything below par, chuck ‘em out now. Dracula’s offers punters a glamourous, funny, accomplished and tightly polished show. “It’s a fun show; we’re still getting younger crowds coming through, new faces to Dracula’s, which is great,” Diamond says. Diamond, as well as being the show’s host is also resident stand-up comedian. He sits down regularly with owner Marc Newman to nut out his jokes (Dracula’s is a family business). “We do have the ability to change it up,” he continues. “In one show there was a tech issue which left a gap and I had the luxury of being able to fill it with improv. It was scary! It’s a good test of your knowledge. We do our own version of Stairway to Heaven, a big number, totally different to the norm at Dracula’s. It starts soft and has a big rock-like ending. It brings the house down every night. We went out on a limb with Retro Vampt. With our opening video we reference ’70s porn stars, the police shows, the blaxploitation shows – it sets up the theme of Retro Vampt with the flares, the afros, the corniness of it all. And then there’s the audience interaction, even more of it this time.”

Something’s going right cos the cast is made up of the same performers as last year and Diamond says they’re very tight by now. One of the best things about working in a Dracula’s show, he reckons, is the creative freedom the performers enjoy. “The beauty of it is that it’s not a musical where you’re handed a script and you have to stick to the lines,” he notes. “We are always allowed to bring our own spin to things, we can play around with things, we can always suggest acts, call on our own experiences, add jokes, add to costumes, the musicians have control of the music, of the harmonies; it’s a great creative process. The musicians are multi-talented,’ Diamond continues. “They play bongos, guitar, sex, doing iconic musical moments from the ’70s. Music is the main theme in this year’s show. There’s a bit of everything. There’s a pole routine and a comical aerial act featuring a James Bond sequence. But we’re still a cabaret and we’re still vampires so there’s the dark element of that. And the sexiness! Dracula’s has evolved. We’re into the golden age of vampires now. It’s a funny glamorous show with way, way more sequins!”

 

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