š Count Dykula
š Soho Theatre, 21 Dean Street, London W1D 3NE
š Friday 14th February 2025
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DEAD FUNNY BUT LACKING LIFE
What is the right way to be a monster? After modern-day screen representations of vampires seem to have desensitised people to being scared, butch lesbian vampire Count Dykula hopes to answer the question as she enroles in Scare University. The trouble is there's a busty dictator in charge who is blinded by power. Loner Count Dykula must forge friendships and work with others to bring this powerhouse down.
The absolute standout in this show for me was the supurb cast. They were all extremely hard working and they each multi-roled exceptionally well. Rosanna Suppa brought the house down as the titular Count Dykula, portraying epic comic timing with sensational vocals. How she manages to somehow keep the character believable within the somewhat farcical setting is to be applauded.
Eleanor Colville was cute and loveable as the WerePug and as the evil Scarlett Fang had a huge ego that was tiny in comparison to other aspects of herself! Robbie Taylor Hunt brings the joyous chaos to the piece with his huge array of characters, with my favourite being Zombie.
Although I loved the cast, I have really conflicted feelings about this production. For me the story itself was lacking somewhat. I always believe in any theatre production that the central story is the most important part and this is fundamentally what let the show down for me. I get that it wasn't meant to be a serious play, but it just seemed to lose its way half way through and then somewhat limped to the end. The jokes suddenly became stale and it seemed to drag, losing the charm and wit it had in abundance at the start.
The technical aspects unfortunately felt a bit lacklustre, almost as if they were an afterthought and the scene transitions just took too long. I understand this may have been to give the company time for costume changes but I started to become aggitated by them which is never a good sign.
One thing that was fantastic about this show though was the score. The songs were a real mix of styles and were all performed brilliantly. There were definitely some toe-tappers in there!
Overall I did enjoy it but because I had such mixed feelings about the show I felt that awarding three stars was the fairest rating I could give.
If you fancy a night of queer silliness, that doesn't take itself too seriously and features some wonderful performances then COUNT DYKULA is the show for you! The show is playing at London's Soho Theatre until Saturday 1st March. CLICK HERE to check availability and to book tickets.
Neill Kovacic-Clarke
All views are my own and I pride myself on being honest, fair and free from influence. Theatre is subjective and it is important to remember that all views expressed are just those of one person.
My ticket for this performance of Count Dykula was gifted by the Soho Theatre who invited me to watch the show in exchange for my honest review. The fact that my ticket was gifted played no part in the content of my review or the star rating given.
CAST LIST:
Rosanna Suppa; Eleanor Colville; Robbie Raylor Hunt
RUNNING TIME (approx):
1 hour 10 minutes, with no interval
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