A Play in 2 Acts by Kelly Gabriel Lee
OUT FOR BLOOD; THE SEDUCTION OF BRAM STOKER traces Bram Stoker’s creation of his infamous novel, Dracula, revealing a tangled source of influences, ranging from supernatural legends and historical research to real-life inspirations (such as the stage actor Henry Irving and the writers Walt Whitman and Oscar Wilde), as well as the author’s own psychosexual fears as a Victorian man grappling with both inner and perceived demons. Interspersed throughout the play are key scenes from Stoker’s novel.
SYNOPSIS: The play opens with a brief prologue, where we see the young Bram Stoker at Dublin’s Trinity College being mocked by other students for his defense of Walt Whitman. Act I opens with Stoker visiting the coastal town of Whitby, where he hears mysterious tales of shipwrecks after discovering books about Transylvania and vampire lore at the local library. In London, working as a stage manager at the Lyceum, Stoker watches a performance of Faust featuring a flamboyant performance by Henry Irving as Mephistopheles. At home, exchanges with his wife Florence reveal Stoker’s ambivalence about working for the demanding Irving, as well as his discomfort with Oscar Wilde’s notoriety and rise of the “New Woman.” Stoker begins his draft of Dracula, fueled by a series of horrific nightmares. The first act ends with Stoker and Irving visiting Walt Whitman in America while on tour, with Stoker finding a tender alliance with the poet, much to Irving’s chagrin.
In the second act, a nervously anticipated visit by Oscar Wilde and his companion Bosie – replete with endless repartees and double entendres – stirs up a storm of fear and anxiety for Stoker when he learns of Oscar’s decision to press charges against the Marquess of Queensbury. Shortly, Stoker learns of Wilde’s trial and experiences a crisis of recognition and dismay concerning transgressive behavior. The play ends with a simultaneity of Wilde’s sentencing, Dracula’s killing, and Stoker’s realization of what he has written.
PRODUCTION AVAILABILITY: OUT FOR BLOOD: THE SEDUCTION OF BRAM STOKER is a copywritten dramatic work available for theatrical production by the playwright.
Contact: kellygabriel_lee@yahoo.com
“You are too easily influenced by powerful men. It’s some kind of perverse seduction over you.”
– Florence Stoker, to her husband Bram Stoker
Kelly Gabriel Lee 