Eve of St. George – A Disturbing and Steamy Recreation of Dracula

Eve of St. George – A Disturbing and Steamy Recreation of Dracula

On February 20, 2024, Transcen|Dance Project returned for another successful immersive theatre production. This year’s production was Eve of St. George, a creative retelling of the classic epistolary novel Dracula by Bram Stoker.

Last year, Fashion Ecstasy had the utmost pleasure of reviewing Transcen|Dance Project‘s A Grimm Night and was deeply impressed and blown away by everything Julia Cratchley and her team achieved back then. This new production was much darker, bolder, and disturbing.

Below are highlights from the media-only preview:

Highlights from the media-only preview:

Step Inside Dracula’s Castle

Upon entering The Great Hall, guests or ‘immersants’ received black masquerade masks, drink tickets in tiny glass vials, and wax-sealed invitations. Everyone was told to keep the masks on throughout the performance to distinguish us from the performers. While waiting for the performance to begin, everyone gathered in the main room, enjoyed the specialty cocktails, and observed the handful of performers who occasionally wandered in and out of the room. At precisely 7:30 pm, the Mistress of Ceremonies (Marissa Ricci) sauntered onto the stage, which signalled the start of the show. She did a fantastic job of engaging the immersants and preparing them for the seductive and sinister experience that awaited them. 

She invited the audience to open their invitations at the same time, and then the ushers directed them to one of three locations to begin their viewing—the main floor, balcony, and basement. After following the directions on the invitations, they were welcomed to either stay in that one place, wander throughout the building, or follow one of the performers throughout the building.

For those whose invitations directed them to the basement, they walked right into a scene where three vampire children were playing hide and seek in a graveyard. The vampire children (played by Sarah MacDonald, Tyler Angell, and Dana MacDonald) were equal parts: adorable, playful, and possessed. While they played with and taunted the immersants, some of them watched Renfield, Dracula‘s deranged and obsessed servant played by Joey Arrigo, move around their spider-infested cell in such a menacing manner and pull off the most grotesque facial expressions.

Immersants wandered from room to room and were allowed to rifle through the performers’ personal belongings. Such belongings included intimate letters from Johnathan Harker (Connor Mitton) to his fiancé Mina Murray (Kelly Shaw) found in the drawing room, the crates of soil stacked next to Dracula’s coffin, and chewed-up flies and spiders scattered all over Renfield’s cell. In the novel, both Dracula and Renfield heavily rely on Transylvanian soil and spiders, respectively, for sustenance and attaining immortality. All praise goes to the Costume Designer and the entire Set Design & Décor team (Yulia Kinshakova, Jennifer Goodman, Annie Lujan, and Audrianna Martin Del Campo) for their exceptional attention to detail and their commitment to staying true to the source material.

Keep Your Screams and Chatter Silent

Throughout the performance, many bore witness to some disturbing yet arousing intimate moments between the characters. One of these moments was from Lucy Westenra’s (Jazzmin James) seduction and eventual possession by Dracula (Jack Rennie) in the graveyard. In the main hall, immersants got an eye full when they watched Mina Murray, Johnathan Harker, and Dracula strip down to their undergarments and proceed to have one heck of a threesome on the chaise lounge! If this were any other play, the audience would appropriately be screaming, “Get a Room! Read the Room!” while shielding their eyes. But for this play, the intense chemistry in these scenes made it hard to look away or say anything that would disrupt this gothic peep show. Shoutout to the intimacy coordinator, Anisa Tejpar, because those moments got many in the audience fanning themselves from the eroticism of it all.

These intimate moments were extended to the immersants as well. One of the best parts of immersive theatre is the one-on-one moments where the performer takes an audience member and creates mini scenes with them. There were scenes where Arthur Holmwood (Tyler Gledhill) and Dracula charmed the absolute living daylights out of their female immersant scene partners. In another scene, Dracula took a guest by her hand, tightly embraced her, and then the two proceeded to slink into the darkness for more intimate moments. For those who watched these scenes from afar and wished it were them, their masks couldn’t conceal their jealousy.

The vampire brides, Elvira, Hazel, and Drusella (Martha Hart, Julia Cosentino, and Kaela Willey) were the epitome of dark sexiness. Individually, they all looked amazing in their black lace corsets and sheer black skirts. As a trio, their dance numbers included a floor performance so hot it nearly set the building ablaze. In another number, they used a single stretch of black fabric to cover their exposed breasts as they moved in unison to the music.

Another Story Told. Another Breath Exhaled

The Eve of St. George was another wonderful performance from the Transcen|Dance Project. It was dark, unnerving, and sexual, with surprises around every corner. Since their last two productions were so well-received, hopefully, they will consider running longer engagements for future performances. A big thank you goes to everyone at the Transcen│Dance Project, Duet PR, and The Great Hall for inviting Fashion Ecstasy to this stunning show. For more information, please visit https://www.transcendanceproject.com/eve-of-st-george

I Sneaked into Eve of St. George and It Was More DISTURBING than I Imagined, Dracula Has Never Been THIS Sexy – You Won’t Believe the Steamy Scenes at Eve of St. George / 驚！德古拉伯爵現身！煽情、毛骨悚染的演出挑戰您的腎上腺素！聖喬治前夕——超越舞蹈計畫

I Sneaked into Eve of St. George and It Was More DISTURBING than I Imagined, Dracula Has Never Been THIS Sexy – You Won’t Believe the Steamy Scenes at Eve of St. George / 驚！德古拉伯爵現身！煽情、毛骨悚染的演出挑戰您的腎上腺素！聖喬治前夕——超越舞蹈計畫

I Sneaked into Eve of St. George and It Was More DISTURBING than I Imagined, Dracula Has Never Been THIS Sexy – You Won’t Believe the Steamy Scenes at Eve of St. George / 驚！德古拉伯爵現身！煽情、毛骨悚染的演出挑戰您的腎上腺素！聖喬治前夕——超越舞蹈計畫

I Sneaked into Eve of St. George and It Was More DISTURBING than I Imagined, Dracula Has Never Been THIS Sexy – You Won’t Believe the Steamy Scenes at Eve of St. George / 驚！德古拉伯爵現身！煽情、毛骨悚染的演出挑戰您的腎上腺素！聖喬治前夕——超越舞蹈計畫

I Sneaked into Eve of St. George and It Was More DISTURBING than I Imagined, Dracula Has Never Been THIS Sexy – You Won’t Believe the Steamy Scenes at Eve of St. George / 驚！德古拉伯爵現身！煽情、毛骨悚染的演出挑戰您的腎上腺素！聖喬治前夕——超越舞蹈計畫

I Sneaked into Eve of St. George and It Was More DISTURBING than I Imagined, Dracula Has Never Been THIS Sexy – You Won’t Believe the Steamy Scenes at Eve of St. George / 驚！德古拉伯爵現身！煽情、毛骨悚染的演出挑戰您的腎上腺素！聖喬治前夕——超越舞蹈計畫

I Sneaked into Eve of St. George and It Was More DISTURBING than I Imagined, Dracula Has Never Been THIS Sexy – You Won’t Believe the Steamy Scenes at Eve of St. George / 驚！德古拉伯爵現身！煽情、毛骨悚染的演出挑戰您的腎上腺素！聖喬治前夕——超越舞蹈計畫

I Sneaked into Eve of St. George and It Was More DISTURBING than I Imagined, Dracula Has Never Been THIS Sexy – You Won’t Believe the Steamy Scenes at Eve of St. George / 驚！德古拉伯爵現身！煽情、毛骨悚染的演出挑戰您的腎上腺素！聖喬治前夕——超越舞蹈計畫

I Sneaked into Eve of St. George and It Was More DISTURBING than I Imagined, Dracula Has Never Been THIS Sexy – You Won’t Believe the Steamy Scenes at Eve of St. George / 驚！德古拉伯爵現身！煽情、毛骨悚染的演出挑戰您的腎上腺素！聖喬治前夕——超越舞蹈計畫

I Sneaked into Eve of St. George and It Was More DISTURBING than I Imagined, Dracula Has Never Been THIS Sexy – You Won’t Believe the Steamy Scenes at Eve of St. George / 驚！德古拉伯爵現身！煽情、毛骨悚染的演出挑戰您的腎上腺素！聖喬治前夕——超越舞蹈計畫