An all-new - and all-female - adaptation of Bram Stoker’s Dracula not only tells the tale from the viewpoint of vampire victim Mina Murray, it also relocates the classic gothic horror story to Aberdeenshire in Scotland. Its writer, Morna Pearson, talks to What’s On about the show... 

Tell us how the project came about, Morna, and what you thought you could bring to a classic tale that’s already been told many times. 
National Theatre of Scotland asked if I would like to adapt Dracula for a production with His Majesty’s Theatre Aberdeen, and I didn’t hesitate to say yes. I’m drawn to dark stories. 
I’m from Elgin, in the north east of Scotland, so relocating the action to Aberdeenshire seemed a natural artistic choice to make. I believed I could contribute a unique version, despite the fact that it’s being done in many versions and mediums at any one time.

Sally Cookson is credited as director and you as writer, but the concept and style seems to have been quite a collaborative effort. How did that process work, and did you know her, or her work, before you started? 
I hadn’t worked with Sally before, [but] had seen and admired filmed productions of her work. I was drawn to the fluidity, musicality and non-naturalism of Sally’s productions. She was brought on board very early on, so we could develop the storyline of the production through a collaborative process. 

How did that work in practice?  
Sally and I work in very different ways. She works visually and on her feet, while I’m very script-based and desk-bound. We had to find a process and a version of the story that worked for us both, and dramaturg Rosie Kellagher was the bridge in our collaboration. We had weeks of development, where we worked out what parts of the story we wanted to tell, how we wanted to tell it, and why.

What was the thinking behind making it an all-female and gender non-binary production - and putting them all in a psychiatric hospital?
Sally had the idea to frame the story of Dracula within an asylum - as psychiatric hospitals were called then - for women. I’d been writing Renfield as a female character and was drawn to exploring their experience in the asylum from the outset, so the framing device spun from there. It opened the play up further to interrogate issues of power, identity and autonomy, which are so relevant today.

Why choose Mina Murray as the focal point? She was often regarded as the ‘ideal Victorian woman’ at the time, so are you planning to support or challenge that perception?
When I read the novel with an eye to adaptation, Mina immediately struck me as having great potential as a theatrical protagonist, and I was excited to retell the story of Dracula through her eyes. 
Our version of Mina has come from a less privileged background, and so is therefore less content to return to the status quo, like at the end of the novel. This production challenges Victorian beliefs and values, which were very constrictive for all. Through this, it also holds a mirror up to our modern beliefs.

Why did you choose to set the show in Scotland? Whitby and Transylvania are typically seen as the natural setting for the story, but it’s been suggested that Bram Stoker also took inspiration from Aberdeenshire when he visited the area. Are you reclaiming the tale for Scotland?
I tend to set my plays in places I’m familiar with, and I fully believe you can find the universal in the specific. Because Stoker wrote a lot of Dracula in Cruden Bay [a coastal village north of Aberdeen] and was clearly inspired by the place and Slains Castle, it gives us permission to set it there - in a way!

How do you intend to bring the Scottish location to life on stage?
It hopefully comes to life in the language, the humour, the characterisation and the soundscape.

The show has been described as ‘not for the faint-hearted’. Is it especially frightening, and if so, will the horrors be visual or psychological?
We explore the horror of the story through various means. The novel has a lovely build-up of tension that I hope we’ve captured. But there will be blood and one or two jump-scares!

Even though the National Theatre of Scotland has teamed up with Aberdeen Performing Arts and the Coventry Belgrade Theatre for this production, it seems quite a big deal for them, not least because the show is touring quite extensively north of the border. Do you feel that - and feel the same way?
The National Theatre of Scotland have had faith and patience with this project from the beginning. They let us take our time finding the story we wanted to tell and how to tell it. The cast have been an integral part of that process of how we tell it, so they are just as emotionally invested. It’s my first large-scale production, so I can say it’s definitely a big deal for me!

As well as the Belgrade, the show will also be performed at the Liverpool Playhouse. Are you looking forward to bringing the production south of Hadrian’s Wall, and will you need to tone down the accents or provide subtitles for an English audience?!
I’ve never had a full professional production south of Hadrian’s Wall, so I’m very excited and intrigued to see what the audiences make of it. I find non-local audiences/readers of my work atune their ear quite quickly to accents and dialects, so fingers crossed there will be no cries for subtitles!

Finally, how would you pitch the show to theatregoers? What can audiences expect from a night at Dracula: Mina’s Reckoning?
They can expect a story of friendship, loss and empowerment, with wonderfully striking and funny performances, all tied up with a bow of bloody horror!

by Steve Adams