Dracula 12

What did we do today?

Diagram of the stage layout for Bedlam.

Today we worked on the second scene, in Bedlam, where Renfield's character is introduced. First we started with the transition from the previous scene, where everyone goes from the line to 4 groups of mad people in the four corners of the stage with the front two groups having guards stood behind them. There are also two guards holding Renfield  with Seward stood in front of him. There are 5-10 seconds of chaotic insanity, with everyone acting as the mad people of the asylum (note - this is not our idea or perception of mad people, it is intentionally set to be Victorian ideas of madness) and then Max gives the sign to stop by screaming "SHUT UP!" 

We intentionally put in some chorus work to do with Renfield, like giving the chorus some of his lines so that we can represent how each mad person in the asylum is sort of like a side of Renfield. When Sophie (Renfield) starts screaming "Bedlam" the rest of the cast chorus it too, screaming the words three times before the guards raise their hands as if to strike and we flinch away and fall silent. When Sophie says "Screw Lucy" we start whispering and muttering "Lucy, Lucy, Lucy". When Renfield sees the fly, the entire cast starts to buzz and make the noise of the fly, slowly building the noise and matching her movements. 

We showed Andy and he gave us some constructive criticism and changed a few things. Firstly, he pointed out a bit where Renfield is singing the song about the lady who swallowed a fly:

There was an old woman who swallowed a fly,
I don't know why she swallowed a fly,
Perhaps she'll die.

There was an old woman who swallowed a spider,
That wriggled and jiggled and tickled inside her,
She swallowed the spider to catch the fly,
I don't know why she swallowed the fly,
Perhaps she'll die.

There was an old woman who swallowed a bird,
How absurd! to swallow a bird,
She swallowed the bird to catch the spider,
That wriggled and jiggled and tickled inside her,
She swallowed the spider to catch the fly,
I don't know why she swallowed the fly
Perhaps she'll die.

Andy wanted everyone to sing that song when Renfield does - as mad people - and he also added in a bit when Renfield is screaming "MY MASTER WHO I WORSHIP IS COMING IN HIS WARSHIP!" The entire chorus screams that with her. Her final line is "I don't want to want to let him in!" And when she's said that, the entire cast repeats it in a deadly whisper. We then start to laugh manically and transition to the next scene.

Scene three was fairly simple. Since it was just between Jonathan Harker and Seward we decided to go from the laughing transition to standing in three lines, creating three walls around the scene facing the two and when they shake hands and greet each other we all turn and face away. This makes a nice set, it seems to block the two off from the madness and chaos of Bedlam outside the walls of Seward's office, but we decided to keep in character ever so slightly, but stood in neutral. There are three points in the conversation when everyone turns and looks at the two talking, those are when they mention Mina for the first time, when Seward says "All a bit Gothic for my tastes" and when they mention Count Dracula. We finally turn when Jonathan says "Yield not to temptation", signifying one of the major themes of the play, and as they continue off we raise the volume until we're in full scale madness again.

Electric Shock Therapy/Electroconvulsive Therapy/Medical Science

In scene two we reference and also show use of Electroconvulsive therapy, more commonly known as Electric Shock Therapy. EST is usually used to treat depression, mania, schizophrenia and catatonia. It's use in the play is anachronistic, the play is set in the 1890's and EST was not introduced into medicine until the 1930's. I think that the play has hugely medicalised the Dracula legend, I think this is important in three ways:

1. It plays on the whole science vs. religion. Dracula/vampire lore in general ties in hugely with religion (crucifixes, holy water etc being used to repel vampires)and Bram Stoker was a Protestant himself, however Liz Lochhead's play is a far more modern interpretation of the tale so it's an interesting debate to throw in
2. Science being a modern this, this really shows the battle in the play between the modern and the ancient. This leads on to...
3. Medicine becoming a power in it's own rite. The electroshock therapy, the blood transfusions for Lucy, the opiates to sedate Renfield they are all used essentially to battle Dracula and so become a power themselves. Interestingly enough it's a matter the doctors and scientists, Seward and Van Helsing, trying to take hold control and the madmen and the women who often seem to be the ones in control, sometimes leaving the doctors powerless.