Thunder, lightning, very, very… atmospheric and, according to the school party sitting near me, at times quite frightening. Sound and music, light and projections are the most striking features of this National Theatre of Scotland and Aberdeen Performing Arts’s coproduction, a new reworking by Morna Pearson of Bram Stoker’s 1897 novel.
Platforms and gantries stand stark against jagged, fragmented back walls (Kenneth MacLeod’s design). At first, this backdrop seems solid. It encloses those incarcerated in the “Aberdeen asylum for women”, where new arrival Mina (Danielle Jam) has a tale to tell. As in the 2021 version of the story by touring company Imitating the Dog, Mina is the central character, recollecting events via flashbacks.
