Preparations are afoot for a spooky production of ‘Dracula’ by one of Bahrain’s oldest expatriate theatre clubs.

The Manama Theatre Club (MTC), a section of the British Club, is conducting auditions for eight main roles as well as a handful of secondary roles for ‘Dracula’, expected to be staged in May.

“We want to take the classic tale of Dracula and create a visual feast with a set that could be considered abstract gothic,” MTC chairperson Hannah Turner, who was awarded the Diplomatic Service British Empire Medal last year, told GulfWeekly.

“Think arches, columns and drapery. Throw in some fabulous costumes and makeup alongside our talented actors and audiences are in for a treat. And don’t forget thunder, lightning and a bit of blood…”

The first set of auditions took place last night, January 21, and the second set will be conducted on Sunday evening, January 25, from 7pm onwards at the British Club’s Queen Elizabeth II Theatre.

Director Amy McGavin and producer Hannah are looking for men and women, aged 20 and above, to take on acting roles including those of Dracula, Dr John Seward, Lucy Westenra, Mina Harker (nee Murray), Jonathan Harker, Renfield and Dr Van Helsing.

The two-act performance, with each half expected to last 45 to 60 minutes, will be staged based on the play by Richard Sharp.

“The play was proposed by one of our members, Morgan Hentrup, who felt very passionately that it would be a great choice for us and something everyone would be drawn to,” Hannah added.

“We had a play reading, agreed on the script and felt Amy was the perfect director for this production. Thankfully, Amy felt so too!”

Although the priority is auditioning the main cast, the MTC is also looking for several crew members to round out the team that assists backstage and bring the performance to life.

“The crew will be honing skills they have acquired over the last few productions and hopefully some newcomers will learn new skills in theatre,” Hannah noted, adding that she is hoping to leverage her recent eight-day experience working backstage at Wicked for the National Theatre to level up MTC’s future performances.

Richard Sharp’s rendition of Dracula is based on Bram Stoker’s 1897 novel.

It is known for restoring the sensual and dangerous nature of the Count while incorporating elements of suspense and dark humour, following the classic narrative structure of the novel across two acts, set in Transylvania, Whitby, and London.

The script has been described as ‘funny, scary, and visually seductive’, balancing the horror of the story with witty dialogue.

The exact dates for the MTC performance will be announced in the coming months.

For more details, follow @mtcbahrain on Instagram.