The Vampyre Dances
A Victorian Sci-fi Vampire play about colonialism and empire.
Everything is up for grabs in the fledgling colony when a Vampire turns up in NZ a few days before the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi and stakes a prior land claim. A Victorian Sci-fi Vampire play about colonialism… and golf.
Production Details
Circa theatre, Wellington Director - Murray Lynch Music - Janet Roddick Set - John Parker Cast - Jacob Rajan, Claire Waldron, Peter Hambleton, Malcolm Murray, Geraldine Brophy, Sean Allen
1996 Download the script
From the reviews
“Others in this amazing and largely entertaining dramatic collage are part of a crazy farce involving golf clubs and sexual liberation, land-grabbing and domination as well as ideas of liberty, equality and fraternity. And blood. When run in The Vampyre Dances should step lightly across all boundaries of political correctness so that the mix of dramatic genres will be able to work effectively as the parable that it’s creators intended.” -Dominion
The Vampyre Dances makes for an extremely entertaining and at time hilarious night at the theatre. There is squillions of stuff in this show, but it is pastiche, darling, postmodernism darling. I loved the allusions in the play, from the inaugural speech of Nelson Mandela, feminism, Maori rights, colonial and class oppression to the songs of the Carpenters - yes, this play has it all. And laugh, did I what!” - Salient