The play is about vampires. We love vampires, because to quote the playwright, “Of all the gods and monsters we have made in our own image, they are most heard and most sympathetic . They have no reflection, yet they hold up a cracked looking glass through which we can question what it means to be human,” Moira Buffini.
Two young women, ages unknown, arrive in a nameless small British town with assumed names. Are they mother and daughter, sisters..? Eleanor goes to school while Claire takes a job in a pub. In Drama, Eleanor says she's survived for more than 200 years drinking human blood. Her classmates think she's mad, the teacher calls the counsellor, and Frank investigates her delusion – he thinks it’s epic. His parents think that Ella's anorexic, and why doesn't she ever eat? Things start falling apart. People disappear...
“This was one of the most challenging and exciting pieces of work we have produced. The audience were on the edge of their seats from the start to the end. Over twenty students ranging from 13 to 16 years were involved and each and everyone gave a 110%. I am really proud of them, their enthusiasm and talent is boundless,” Heather Birkbeck, Head of Drama, Commonweal School.
The lead character was played by two actresses, one from the Victorian era and one from present day.
“I played the Victorian version and Chloe played the modern day version of the main character. It is a very mature play, more the sort of thing we will be doing when we go to college. It was very challenging, especially one scene which is drenched in emotion, ” commented Jemima Ashdown, age 15.
“It’s a disturbing and intense play with a dark humour. It was challenging for the actors because we had to be quite intimate with one another. Hopefully it made the audience think deeply about their own lives,” Chloe Millen, age 16.
Review
Let’s be honest. Anyone who goes along to any school show, expects to exercise a certain amount of benign tolerance. The acting’s sure to be a bit wooden, or we won’t be able to hear them but never mind, it’s ‘for the children…’
Well, Commonweal’s ‘A Vampire Story’ by Moira Buffini superbly failed to tick any of the above mentioned boxes.
Even before the show began, the moody lighting in the auditorium gave audience members a wonderful feeling of what might be in store, and was only accentuated by the superb choice of eerie pre-show house music.
The technical proficiency continued with sound and lighting cues executed with aplomb. Scene changes too, were a joy, in that they were hardly noticeable. Like any good football referee, if you don’t notice the stage crew, they’re doing a very good job.
Incidental music from a live double bass could have been a nightmare but was handled with minimalist application; always adding to, and never distracting from, the acting on stage.
Speaking of which, I began circling actors’ names in my programme, to give them special mention, but so quickly did I find my page filling with circles, that the exercise became quite pointless. Suffice to say that the acting I saw was confident, sure footed and mature. Comedic lines too, were handled with deftness; so very often much harder to do than a straight dramatic delivery.
Oh, and I heard every word as well. Well done all.
Ashley Heath
BBC Radio Swindon
103.6fm, DAB and online at bbc.co.uk/wiltshire
A big thank you to all who made this production an outstanding success.
