Reviewed by: Glam Adelaide
Review by Simon Lancione | 05 March 2023
There is a little known exert of Bram Stokes’s book Dracula called The Capitan’s Log detailing his experience on the ship the Demeter. It is from this chapter the Last Voyage of the Demeter is based. The ship, the aforementioned Demeter, has set sail for England and while stuck in the open seas, a fog and the lack of wind cause the ships company to slowly descend into a lawless environment due to a mounting deaths of crew members. Although the vampire himself is locked away, suspicions of his part in the chaos add to the increasing chaos. With many of the characters harbouring hidden truths or shameful pasts, a dialogue between the Capitan and his cadged competitor foreshadows the sanity of the Dementors passengers. Atmospheric, the simple black set had Dracula bound and caged in a cell. In all purposes, it does indeed appropriately resemble the lower deck of the ship. The deep stage assisted that intention; however, it did lead to some blocking difficulties. The show was intense, punishingly so at times. The cast were determined to reinforce the sadness and desperation that is pervasive in any horror show and they didn’t shy away from any chance they had to reinforce the atmosphere they wanted to build. A challenging script did not deter the cast from giving it a solid effort. Horror unfortunately is not a common genre that is seen during the fringe but respect should be given to the company for tackling the style.