We chatted to the writers and performers about The Highgate Vampire, playing at the Omnibus Theatre from the 16th to the 30th December.
Hi, what can we expect from The Highgate Vampire?
James: The show is a sometimes surreal, sometimes gothic, often hilarious dive into the occult movement which arose in the late 1960s and early 1970s in North London.
Specifically, it follows two self-styled vampire hunters. One is Patrick Sheffield (Alexander Knott), a Catholic priest, exorcist and milkman. The other is Daniel Farringdon (James Demaine), a tobacconist by day and a psychic investigator / master occultist by night. The two characters are based on real-life figures, and in the
play, we imagine that they have put aside their hatred of each other and come together to provide their accounts of how they slayed the Highgate Vampire. Imagine if “The Woman in Black” were performed by “The Mighty Boosh”. The show has also been compared to shows like Inside Number 9, so if you like your comedy dark or your horror funny, then it might be for you.
Alex: It’s wild and funny and strange and spooky, perfect for an alternative Christmas treat.
How did the idea for the play come about?
James: The play is based on true events. It centres around a media frenzy surrounding supposed reports of a mysterious entity that had been spotted around Highgate Cemetery. The reports spoke of a dark, shadowy figure with glowing eyes that drained the energy of any passerby who was unfortunate enough to encounter it.
During the media sensation, these two figures came to the forefront of the story, who had a burning hatred for one another. James first heard of the story during a live storytelling event. He was immediately hooked and began researching (which we encourage any potential audience member to do). The rabbit hole goes deep. foxes drained of blood, people walking in trances, demonic possession, you name it. There
is too much wackiness to fit into a 70-minute show, so we distilled the best bits and constructed the plot around that.
Alex: Then the work began of fictionalising the tale, and we took a bit of creative licence, because while the play has a basis in fact (and far more of it is true that you would believe!), these are our own characters, and we can have a bit of fun bringing this story to life. Although, rest assured, the strangest and most bizarre turns of event are the bits that really happened!
How does it feel to be giving the show a full run in London?
James: It’s great to be able to give the show a full run! We are really excited, as a company, to be able to share this nugget of forgotten London folklore with London audiences. Theatre is, at its core, storytelling, and we believe storytelling should be entertaining and should tell us something about ourselves. At its heart, The Highgate Vampire is a very human story, about two men with unmet ambitions, who are making one last attempt at vindicating themselves and their lifestyles and along the way, perhaps discovering that they are more similar than they realise.
Alex: We’ve had a pretty thorough workshop process, and are very grateful to VAULT Creative Arts at The Glitch in Waterloo for giving us the space and time to shape the show – and now we’re bringing all that winter-y spooky fun to Clapham just in time for Christmas.
Can you tell us more about the types of characters we encounter?
James: Without wanting to give too much away, the characters are normal, everyday Londoners who have found themselves in extraordinary circumstances and two misguided experts who are trying to guide us through it. Two actors play around twelve characters, utilising costume changes, physical characterisation and voice over to weave a tapestry of a specific event during a specific era in London’s history. There is also something of a doff of the cap to The Monty Python lads.
Alex: He means, some of them are normal. Mrs Petunia Battersby isn’t wildly normal. But you’ll have to book a ticket to find out about the dark secrets of Mrs Petunia Battersby, who lives in Kensal Rise, and has a mysterious presence in her flat. As if you needed another reason to book! There are secrets and jokes galore! It should be a great night out.
How has it been for you watching the show develop?
James: It is brilliant to see the show develop. The most rewarding part has been to see audience reactions. There is something in it for everyone. During a period of time that feels very overwhelming and tense, we think people have enjoyed leaving everything at the door and embracing some spooky silliness. The fact that it’s all true is just the cherry on top.
Alex: Bag of Beard Theatre has covered a fair amount of ground in our ten years. We started off with a Pinter-esque gangland thriller, then a comedy of manners about art students who discover a lost masterpiece, followed by a real world war story, then a new version of A Christmas Carol from Bob Cratchit’s point of view, and finally a psychological drama set in a world where religion is banned. There’s always been dark comedy and a touch of poetry in all of our plays, but The Highgate Vampire is knocking on farce. A weird, dark farce. It’s silly, it’s strange, and we’d love for you to see it.
By Emma Clarendon
To book tickets visit: https://www.omnibus-clapham.org/the-highgate-vampire/