Count Dykula, a butch lesbian vampire with a name that is “at best quite hard to spell and at worst…a slur” is frustrated with her lonely existence and the fact that everyone thinks lesbian vampires should look like characters from that James Corden movie (2009’s Lesbian Vampire Killers, a film to which references abound throughout the 70 minutes of Count Dykula at the Soho Theatre).
When a conveniently-placed spotlight sends her in the direction of Scare University, can Dykula find her tribe and defeat Scarlett Fang, the principal who wants to “make monsters fun again”?
Count Dykula has a cast of just three, creators Eleanor Colville, Rosanna Suppa and Robbie Taylor Hunt, but it appears much larger thanks to clever sound design from Anna Short which makes their voices appear from different parts of the theatre and adds in side characters, and thanks also to each performer taking on multiple roles.
This itself becomes a source of comedy, with numerous jokes referencing the fact that various characters cannot appear onstage together at the same time. Rather than feeling tired though, this is done in a way which feels creative and fresh, as are the regular fourth wall breaks and references to the challenges of staging.
Rosanna Suppa makes an excellent Count Dykula, striking just the right balance of charisma and vulnerability, while Eleanor Colville’s Southern belle Scarlett Fang is the perfect villain. Robbie Taylor Hunt, meanwhile, is particularly funny as Zombie, who wants just two things: to be a theatre star (for which he demonstrates his credentials with aplomb in a mid-show dance number choreographed by Mylon Birch), and for everyone to understand him.
Musician Meg Narongchai, as well as performing her main role of accompanying the various hilarious songs in the piece, is also used at times as a fourth actor, and again this is mocked by the script even as it happens.
Caitlin Mawhinney’s set is relatively simple, but she comes into her own in the costuming, with a wide array of geographically-ambivalent university outfits which allow the performers to transform quickly from role to role. The two-headed dragon in particular is a triumph.
This could easily be developed into a longer piece, with more songs and more development of the metaphors for the modern queer experience. But as it stands it still has much to recommend it – a hilarious romp which has an important message of embracing who you are.
Count Dykula runs at Soho Theatre until 1st March.
★★★★☆ (4*)
Gifted tickets in return for an honest review | Photography by Cam Harle
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