This was a post show discussion with writer/director Nick Lane from Blackeyed Theatre, actor Harry Rundle and Professor Matthew Cheeseman (University of Derby) following the performance of Dracula at Derby Theatre. The event took the form of a post-show discussion, discussing Dracula, the play that had just been performed and a Q&A with audience members including members of London's Dracula Society. I had the play script in advance and prepared the format of the talk / discussion.
This was a public lecture focused on the representation of the Irish soldier in the British Army from the nineteenth century to the First World War with a particular focus on the paintings of Lady Butler.
This lecture focused on Stoker's working life in the theatre, the influence of the Lyceum Theatre on his literary vision and the actors he worked with and the plays he was inspired by (Macbeth and Faust). It demonstrated how Stoker's conception of Dracula landing in Whitby and living (temporarily) in St Mary's Churchyard was inspired by the Lyceum Theatre's productions. Stoker saw Whitby - the East Cliff of St Mary's and the Abbey - as a stage set for a spectacular and melodramatic production. The lecture was presented to Whitby Civic Society and open to members of the public.
