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Written by David Innes. Directed by Rob Lloyd.
An original horror comedy blockbuster. Dr Mina Harker is now a practising physicians, specialising in strange and unusual maladies. Just as she is trying to maintain order in her life with her husband Jonathan and child Quincey, her life is threatened by transforming madmen, death threats and mythical creatures. Joined by international investigator Sir Nayland Smith, Dr Harker is hot on the trail of monstrous archetypes in order to find who is at the centre of the mysterious gang known as "The Benzene Ring". |
Cast and Crew
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DAVID S. INNES
Sir Nayland Smith Victor Frankenstein Writer Sound Design |
ROBERT LLOYD
Jonathan Harker Dr Henry Jekyll/Mister Hyde Imhotep Lord Talbot Jack Griffin Prometheus Director Flipchart Designer and Illustrator |
JENNIFER SPEIRS
Dr Mina Harker |
JAKLENE VUKASINOVIC: Technical Director
MUSIC: Matthew Hadgraft ORIGINAL POSTER AND LOGO: Caitlin Yolland PHOTOGRAPHY: Fab Evans (Show) and Mark Gambino (Publicity) VIDEOGRAPHY: Nick Hill |
About the Show
PERFORMANCE HISTORY
5th - 11th April 2021, The Butterfly Club Melbourne.
BACKGROUND
The difficult second album! Dracula attracted rave reviews and both Innes and Lloyd enjoyed the dynamic with Jen. A sequel was in order! Having left on a cliffhanger involving one Dr Henry Jekyll, one of the initial ideas was to do a straight adaptation of the novella. Unfortunately, there wasn't much "meat" in the story. Lloyd had pitched a story that involves every single monster from the Universal Studios catalogue. This impossible idea won out and the challenge was set!
The story ended up with eight or nine drafts before it became the show as performed at The Butterfly Club. One of the earliest drafts would have featured a babysitter-turned-sidekick for Mina. Having incorporated Sir Nayland Smith, there was to be a satirical subplot involving Fu Manchu, commenting on the ridiculousness and awfulness of "yellow face" portrayals, but this was dropped. The threat was initially going to involve the kidnapping of the Prime Minister. Jonathan Harker was originally going to run for Prime Minister, which was also dropped due to unnecessary complexity. The big villain was also going to be a group of privileged white men who wanted to maintain control of the world, which would have been followed by a somewhat on-the-nose monologue about the patriarchy.
One of the changes that occurs between this story and Dracula is the recasting of Jonathan Harker. It became apparent that it would not be possible for Innes to be both Harker and Smith (once Smith "got his voice" there was no turning back! It had to be Innes). Innes and Lloyd also did not want to cast themselves in identical role types as Dracula (Innes playing multiple characters, Lloyd being hero and villain).
This show was initially to be presented for the Melbourne International Comedy Festival in 2020. The festival was cancelled due to lockdown restrictions and the rise of COVID-19. Whilst initially very disappointed with this outcome, getting the chance to remount this show in 2021 actually made the production better. All three performers could hone in on their characters and further refinement could be made to the script. As a result, Mina Harker Monster Doctor became one of Innes Lloyd's best shows at the Comedy Festival with an entirely sold out season.
5th - 11th April 2021, The Butterfly Club Melbourne.
BACKGROUND
The difficult second album! Dracula attracted rave reviews and both Innes and Lloyd enjoyed the dynamic with Jen. A sequel was in order! Having left on a cliffhanger involving one Dr Henry Jekyll, one of the initial ideas was to do a straight adaptation of the novella. Unfortunately, there wasn't much "meat" in the story. Lloyd had pitched a story that involves every single monster from the Universal Studios catalogue. This impossible idea won out and the challenge was set!
The story ended up with eight or nine drafts before it became the show as performed at The Butterfly Club. One of the earliest drafts would have featured a babysitter-turned-sidekick for Mina. Having incorporated Sir Nayland Smith, there was to be a satirical subplot involving Fu Manchu, commenting on the ridiculousness and awfulness of "yellow face" portrayals, but this was dropped. The threat was initially going to involve the kidnapping of the Prime Minister. Jonathan Harker was originally going to run for Prime Minister, which was also dropped due to unnecessary complexity. The big villain was also going to be a group of privileged white men who wanted to maintain control of the world, which would have been followed by a somewhat on-the-nose monologue about the patriarchy.
One of the changes that occurs between this story and Dracula is the recasting of Jonathan Harker. It became apparent that it would not be possible for Innes to be both Harker and Smith (once Smith "got his voice" there was no turning back! It had to be Innes). Innes and Lloyd also did not want to cast themselves in identical role types as Dracula (Innes playing multiple characters, Lloyd being hero and villain).
This show was initially to be presented for the Melbourne International Comedy Festival in 2020. The festival was cancelled due to lockdown restrictions and the rise of COVID-19. Whilst initially very disappointed with this outcome, getting the chance to remount this show in 2021 actually made the production better. All three performers could hone in on their characters and further refinement could be made to the script. As a result, Mina Harker Monster Doctor became one of Innes Lloyd's best shows at the Comedy Festival with an entirely sold out season.
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REVIEWS:
"Each element of the show is so wonderfully thought out and works together with such seamlessness and a chemistry within the cast that can be a rare find these days. From the opening credits style introduction to our heroine – complete with a theme song – to the references to well known horror characters and the hilarious style of wit and humour woven throughout the story, I had absolutely fallen in love from the start... There is so much to be said about this show that I could frankly go on for pages and pages about what is just so right about this show. But I hardly think that words could do it justice and really, it’s best to leave that to the professionals. " - Taylor Kendal, Theatre Travels. |
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