Countess Dracula Review
“Countess Dracula” is a bold new piece of comic theatre that premiered last night at Camden People’s Theatre.
Devised by Joanna Holden and the creative collective Ofthejackal, in collaboration with director Deborah Newbold, it reimagines Bram Stoker’s gothic classic. Here Dracula is not a monster of myth but a frame through which to explore the lived experience of menopause, ageing and transformation.
Dracula becomes The Countess/Joey—a woman on the edge, siphoning youthful masculinity from her younger partner Jack in a desperate bid to reignite her fading fire. The production explores the rage, sadness, absurdity, and humour of a life stage too often shrouded in silence.
The show unfolds as a vaudevillian double act, where the boundaries between performance and reality blur. There are echoes of Beckett and end-of-the-pier magic shows, with clowning that draws genuine laughs—black gloves and napkins transforming into bats was a particular audience favourite. The staging is minimal but inventive: a toy theatre, a table, and red curtains that double as tablecloth and bed. Red glitter evokes blood, though its use could be pushed further for greater impact.
At just 45 minutes, the piece feels more like a series of sketches rather than a fully realised journey. Some transitions—like the dinner scene setup—take too much time and a few skits, such as Joey hiding in a box that becomes a car, can be confusing. It seems the show is bursting with ideas but doesn’t always have the space to connect them. In one scene Joey seeks advice from her mother and is told to just deal with it. A longer runtime might allow for deeper exploration of intergenerational perspectives. There’s also a scene with a make doctor, representing how women can feel not listened to, which could be explored further.
What makes Countess Dracula interesting is its grounding in lived experience. The company developed the piece through workshops with people navigating menopause, and that process shows. This isn’t a show that simply speaks about menopause—it listens to it and starts to wrestles with it.
Holden (Told by an Idiot, Cirque du Soleil) draws the eye with wide, expressive features that shift effortlessly between mischief and vulnerability. Jack Kelly (Shrimshanks, Withered Optimism) has multiple roles but drew laughs with his physical comedy as Mother.
Holden (Told by an Idiot, Cirque du Soleil) is magnetic, shifting from grotesque to tender with emotional precision. Jack Kelly (Shrimshanks, Withered Optimism) plays both foil and mirror, conjuring a Beckettian absurdity that deepens the show’s unsettling charm. Together, they create a theatrical language that’s visceral, playful, and deeply human.
In a culture obsessed with youth, Countess Dracula asks what it means to age—especially as a woman—and whether transformation can be reclaimed as power rather than feared.
Countess Dracula performs on 30th October, 31 October and 1st November at 7pm. There is also an afternoon performance at 3pm on 1st November.
Address: Camden People’s Theatre
58-60 Hampstead Road
London, NW1 2PY
Website: https://cptheatre.co.uk/whatson/Countess-Dracula-2025#tickets
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/camdenpeoplestheatre
Written by Caitlin Neal
