It’s that time of year: long nights, bad weather and black Friday. The team at the Wardrobe Theatre are all too aware that we need cheering up so what a tonic it is that they’ve served up another of their genre mash-up, adult comedy winter productions. Drac & Jill is a story of blood and water… buckets of it; or should I say pales? Never mind, you get the idea. Drac is in his castle, feasting on the haemoglobin of the locals; and the nuns are in the nunnery praying to god. Everything’s just fine until the arrival of a bumbling English lawyer John Harker and his protective fiancée Mina opens up wounds of the past.

I’ve read that there is a carnal subtext to that popular children’s nursery rhyme and it’s not lost on the creative team. Blend in some classic gothic horror and off we go. Not much is sacred in this show, well apart from the nuns. Singing and finger-snapping, trading insults, they worship God and love Jesus (Honey he rose!”). The cast quick-change between one group of comical holy sisters and another. There is barely time to finish laughing at the amusing skits, one-liners and pastiche before the next bunch appears.

Tom Fletcher is outrageous and outstanding as the mother superior and later as karaoke king Van Helsing. Meanwhile at Drac’s castle the erotic undertones of the vampire myth are given light in a more direct way. Corrina Buchan make’s the most of her fantastic costume to lord it up as Drac. He receives masochistic attention from his minions and startled admiration from the audience. Between her crazy nun roles Caitlin Campbell adds a delightful contrast of normality in her characterisation of the straight-laced, repressed English girl Mina. Alice Lamb completes the multi-talented cast, mainly as Francis the badly behaved nun but also, like the other actors, in so many other roles that I lost track in my notes. Enthusiasm, verve and terrific comic timing from the four cast members who really relish the fabulous script. It’s all fantastic fun: bawdy, suggestive, silly and mischievous… no taste boundary is left un-pushed.

Credit to director Tom Brennan, dramaturg Matt Whittle and the cast for eking out every last laugh from this production. And a special mention for Chris Collier’s lighting design and Jack Drewry’s sound. Terrific and refined throughout to create and enhance the drama and tension, such a catalyst for the comedy. Wonderful set and costumes by Ruby Spencer Pugh; great little details in the staging and scenery to add yet more subtle comic moments. If you’ve seen these shows before, Reservoir Mogs, Muppets Die-Hard etc. you’ll know what to expect but this is the best yet. Full of tricks, hits and surprises right through to the final sing-a-long.    ★★★★★    Adrian Mantle    28^th November 2019