Dracapella
Park Theatre, London
⭑⭑⭑☆☆

ANOTHER alternative to the avalanche of Christmas pantomimes is Park 200’s very silly, comic acapella reworking of Bram Stoker’s Dracula. Using the bare bones of the original story this fast moving and energetic production works hard to put the ham back in Hammer Horror.

With Christmas cracker style gags coming every second or third line, and a range of well known pop songs performed with gusto to the versatile accompaniment of Alexander Belgarion Hackett’s beatbox vocals, this production never flags. Surprisingly though, this unrelenting barrage of fun is also its weakness.

With puns and visual gags bursting from the seams there is no time to vary the pace, and a Tim Vine or Milton Jones storm of one liners fills the show to the detriment of any real tension — although to the obvious pleasure of much of the audience.

Stephen Ashfield’s slightly dim Harker and Lorna Want’s Mina, playing against the Victorian stereotype, provide a suitably straight-laced and naive central couple, while the rest of the eight person cast go to town on Stoker’s iconic characters.

Ako Mitchell replaces menace with volume as the eponymous monster, while multi-rolling Ciaran Dowd struggles not to corpse at his outrageous Dutch accent as the sexually deviant, dubious vampire slayer, Van Helsing.

Director and co-writer Jez Bond, along with Dan Patterson, have obviously enjoyed putting together this show with its string of unrelenting, well-worn gags and larger than life characters at which even the toughest audience would struggle to keep a straight face.

Some of the flaws will, no doubt, be ironed out during its six-week run, and the up-tempo acapella arrangements by Ian Oakley and the diverse range of sound effects provided by Hackett’s vocal acrobatics are memorable highlights of this bright and breezy production.

With suitably histrionic characters, PG-rated sexual innuendo, well-worn tunes, direct audience interaction, copious jokes and comic asides, along with a final big number full of sparkle, this feels like a winning Christmas show although personally I was fangful it was only two hours long.

Runs until January 17. Box office: 020 7870 6876, parktheatre.co.uk