Dracula: A Play in Two Acts

by Aric Cushing, Bram Stoker (Source Material)

With a cast of 27 characters, Aric Cushing's adaptation includes Mrs. Westenra, Lucy's mother, whom is rarely portrayed in the dramatic versions, Simmons, the Teaming Man, Mr. Swales, and a plethora of other characters whom enlivened Bram Stoker's original novel. The complexityof Stoker's manuscript is not discarded, but instead celebrated in this complex, multi-accented rendition of the most famous horror tale of all time.

94 pages, Paperback

Published November 18, 2011

About the author

Children of the Night: I bid you welcome!

Reviews

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bram Stoker’s Dracula: A Play in Two Acts is an attempt to do a stage version of Stoker’s infamous vampire tale as faithfully to the novel as possible. Dracula was first adapted into a play by Hamilton Deane in 1924, and in my opinion…..he butchered it! Now, I have read Stoker’s original novel atleast five times so far (it is my favorite book), and comparing it to all the other Dracula plays and films which have come out over the years, I was always annoyed at how they would play havoc with the material. For instance, Harker is Renfield, Lucy is Arthurs daughter, characters like Quincey Morris and Dr. Seward were often cut out, and so on. Aric Cushing, however has done a terrific job of finally bringing us a faithful stage adaptation of the book, and it is quite a treat! It’s very well written, most of the dialogue is taken from the novel, and all the important characters and scenes are included. There are a few inaccuracies, however. For instance it is Van Helsing, not Dr. Seward, that stakes Dracula’s vampire brides, and it is Jonathan and Quincey…not Jonathan and Arthur Holmwood…who kill Count Dracula at the end of the book. But that’s just me knit-picking. This is the most faithful adaptation of Dracula that I have ever come across. Aric Cushing has a lot of talent. I’ve always wanted to see a movie made that was this faithful to the book, and if Aric Cushing were to make it big…he should be the one to write and direct it!

[John Geddie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nicely put together and a lot truer to the book than a lot of adaptions. I liked that it made more room for the female characters from the book. It is a lot of scenes that move very quickly, so you’d need a director and set designer with a really clear vision.

[Diana Long · Rating 5 out of 5]

This review applies to the audio recording of a radio rendition of the book abridged as a play. I really enjoyed this albeit it was creepy and chilling. I think it's a fascinating work and the author wrote a imaginative read and most likely responsible for inspiring other authors to include Vampires in their books. Although not responsible for the inventing of the character he certainly made him famous. I will write a separate review in the future on the novel itself.