Ein schaurig-unterhaltsamer Abend an der Uni
„There are darknesses in life and there are lights, and you are one of the lights.”
Can you guess where the quote is from? Let me give you a hint: it is from a movie about vampires and love. For all of those who guessed ‘Twilight’, ‘The Vampire Diaries’ or even ‘Hotel Transylvania’, I am sorry I have to disappoint you but, sadly, your guess was wrong. For those of you who guessed Dracula: yes, you guessed right! This quote, however, is not from the various film versions of Dracula but rather from the original “Dracula” by Bram Stoker. And although Wynona Rider makes the perfect love interest for Dracula as Mina in the movie, Stoker’s Dracula is more the cold-hearted, eerie type of vampire and sadly no loving and caring one.
Our English course in year 12 got to see this scary Dracula in real life (or rather in real theatre life) in January at the University of Augsburg, where the „Anglistentheater” performed Bram Stoker’s vampire story. The cold winter weather kind of matched the atmosphere of the play set in Transylvania and London. And to get even more into the “vampire zone”: they sold vampire teeth right before the beginning of the play. And what kind of cold-hearted person would I have been if I had not bought a pair? Perfectly equipped, we made our way to our seats in an auditorium, prepared for the upcoming lecture.
A first glance at the scenery, and we felt like we were in Dracula’s castle ourselves. After the first few lines of Count Dracula and Englishman Jonathan Harker, it was obvious that in the next one and a half hours, we would not only witness the ordinary storyline. Though the production pretty much followed the original storyline, it was more than just that. They mixed humour and sarcasm to show not only the non-contemporary parts of the play but also to simplify the story in general. Because it can get confusing at first glance: who proposed to whom, who died, wait, who turned into a vampire again? And so on …
But as I said, they managed to play the story comprehensibly. Some ultra „Twilight” or „The Vampire Diaries” addicts might have even been able to catch a phrase out of the series, tucked into the character’s lines. Moreover, I am absolutely positive about three things:
First, the costumes and the setting were on point. Second, the actors and actresses portrayed relationships between the different characters pretty well. And third, we were unconditionally and irrevocably amazed by their flawless English-speaking skills (you may have noticed that that was also partly quoted from Twilight). We were even more amazed when one form of appearance of Dracula was played confidently by a little girl. And even though the sound effects may have not suited at some points, I would like to point out that the performance was overall a great success.
I do not want to spoil the whole story, partly because I think “Dracula” is a classic which you should read once, and partly because I’d probably just confuse you with the way I’d tell it. Most of us did not know the story either before watching the play, but afterwards we now know a lot more about Dracula and its origin. Overall, I would say, and I hope I speak for my course as well, that it was an enjoyable evening.