Count Dracula’s haunting tale will bleed through the halls of Craigdarroch Castle for a second year.
Dracula, The Blood is the Life, is the latest Halloween inspired production at Craigdarroch from Giggling Iguana and Launch Pad Productions.
It runs Oct. 23 to 31.
It was too good, and too in demand, not to bring it back for one more run, said director Ian Case.
“We rewrote the ending, revamped the script and enhanced the effects, the latter of which is always a difficult thing in Craigdarroch.”
It’s the 11th year in a row for Case doing a Halloween show at the castle, with the cast much the same as last year’s. Adapted from Bram Stoker’s classic horror novel by Launch Pad’s David Radford and Christina Patterson, The Blood is the Life tells the tale of London, during the Victorian era, cursed by the spirit of Dracula.
The castle always presents limitations, particularly in terms of gore effects.
Well worry not, horror fans, there will be blood.
“You can’t have blood all over the historic castle, so we’ve looked at ways we could show it and be representation without putting the site at risk,” Case said.
The only new actor to the cast is improv specialist Dave Morris from Paper Street Theatre as Professor Van Helsing.
“Morris is known as an improviser, it’s his first time doing scripted work in a while, and we’ve really enjoyed the dynamic he brings to the show,” Case said.
Dracula follows the Craigdarroch tradition of bringing a show back for a multiple run.
“We first brought back the (inaugural Craigdarroch halloween play) War of the Worlds in 2005, after the debut in 2004. We opened to a lot of popularity and turned a lot of people away back then.
“We learned to revamp the script and improve the technical elements.”
It must have worked, as the Fall of the House of Usher followed it with a four-year run, then came back in 2011 with an all new cast.
The Blood is the Life show times are Oct. 23 and 24 at 8 p.m., Oct. 25 and 26 at 7 & 9 p.m., Oct. 27 & 29 at 8 p.m., Oct. 30 at 7 & 9 p.m.., and Oct. 31 at 8 p.m.
Tickets are available online at thecastle.ca and by phone at 250-592-5323.