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Confessions of a Lunatic

 
Mark Harding Review by Mark Harding 3 Published: 13 Aug 2025 theSpace on the Mile Show Dates: 2 Aug 2025-22 Aug 2025

This is a fresh take on the Dracula story, focusing on secondary characters from the original: Robert Renfield (the lunatic of the title) and Lucy Westenra (the vampire's victim). Rather than explaining their behaviour as simple “evil magic”, Lewis Mullan's fascinating play explores the psychology of the victims. Did they have personality weaknesses to exploit? Did the vampire – in this production, the Countess – arrive at the perfect moment to use their insecurities and (sexual) frustrations?

Mullan's fascinating play explores the psychology of the victims

Here, the role of the vampire is almost secondary. In many scenes it is unclear in what sense she is present – in the victim’s imagination, by telepathy, or physically there.

Despite the unusual emphasis of the play, Dracula’s predatory character is nevertheless fully fleshed out. For example, when Renfield arrives at Dracula’s castle, we watch her probe for character weaknesses and explore ways to gain psychological dominance.

The young company impresses. Lewis Mullan (actor and author) shines as Renfield. Gothic madmen can easily become one-note shouting or mere quirkiness, but Mullan always maintains the humanity beneath the lunacy.

Dracula is played by Arzaneira Deepsri with an unsettling blend of sinister and sensual. Her vampire has a Bela Lugosi accent and a slight dominatrix vibe.

The four roles are completed with Lucy (Elliot Shaw) – conflicted and frustrated both intellectually and sexually – and Dr Seward (Aydan Macdonald), who, as seems de rigueur in modern Dracula tales, is given the character of rather a prat.

With a bit more polish, this production could compete with anybody’s.

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The Blurb:

Waking up having witnessed a brutal murder – by his own hand, incapable of stopping the madness, he stood and watched. Dr Seward plunges himself into work, feasting on the madness of his prized prisoner, following his rejection by Lucy. Whilst in his confinement, Renfield grows closer to Lucy, and Dracula sets eyes on her new prey. They say you make a deal with the devil – but have you ever made a deal with Dracula? An adaptation of Dracula set in 1890s Scotland – is anyone safe from the darkness in these walls?