Theatre dybbuk will premiere Dracula (Annotated) in Shatto Chapel at First Congregational Church of Los Angeles on September 26 at 8:00 PM. The play will run for a limited engagement over three consecutive weekends from September 26 through October 12 with performances on Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00 PM and Sundays at 7:00 PM.

Weaving together Victorian history with the text and characters of Bram Stoker‘s famous vampire novel, this physically dynamic and theatrically abstract work explores the influence of colonialism, antisemitism, xenophobia, and gender inequality on the book and its audience.

Dracula, which features a Transylvanian vampire who invades England to suck the lifeblood of its people, was first published in 1897. At that time, Eastern European Jewish immigrants were making their way to England in large numbers, the British Empire was in the midst of its imperial expansion, major advances were occurring in technology and medicine, and the women’s suffrage movement was growing, with the concept of the “new woman” emerging.

Writer/director Aaron Henne developed this piece over the course of two years in collaboration with the ensemble and in consultation with scholars in Victorian history and gothic literature. A company of five performers plays the multitude of characters in the novel while also bringing to life a variety of voices from its time, all accompanied by an original musical score, performed live. First Church’s Shatto Chapel, with its iconography and architecture, provides a striking and haunting environment for this metaphorically rich and intellectually stimulating investigation of Dracula.

Following its Los Angeles premiere, the company will tour Dracula (Annotated) to Tucson, Arizona as part of a rolling world premiere in October, and to Cincinnati, Ohio in November.

This is the second in a series of “Annotated” productions in which theatre dybbuk investigates classic or well-known and culturally influential works to disrupt more familiar or comfortable ways of engaging with them. The first of these productions, the multiple award-winning The Merchant of Venice (Annotated), or In Sooth I Know Not Why I Am So Sad, premiered in Los Angeles in 2023 and then toured to eight locations across North America.

The Los Angeles limited engagement of Dracula (Annotated) will be performed in Shatto Chapel at First Congregational Church of Los Angeles. The church is located at 540 S. Commonwealth Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90020. Free parking is available on the campus.

Tickets are $30 in advance, $35 at the door (plus processing fees). Discounts are available for students, seniors, and union members.

SPONSORED BY NORTH COAST REP