Midnight Circle fuses Dracula and Carmilla into one radical new Gothic anti-hero

Award-winning theatre company Midnight Circle Productions today launches a
crowdfunder for Vampyre, a two-week R&D project that will fuse Bram Stoker’s Dracula
and Sheridan Le Fanu’s Carmilla into one story and one monster, played by a femme
presenting actor.
The devised work directly challenges the male-dominated Gothic tradition by placing
female and queer desire at its centre. In a radical reimagining, the production collapses
patriarchal grandeur and intimate, queer sensuality into one body, asking what happens
when the monster is no longer “other” but a reflection of ourselves.
Set in the late 19th century but refracted through a contemporary, inclusive lens,
Vampyre explores faith, repression, power, and transformation. The project questions
how “evil” is born when desire and freedom are denied, and reclaims the Gothic for
audiences who have long been marginalized within it.
Why now?
As conservative voices grow louder, Midnight Circle sees an urgent need to celebrate
difference. Dracula and Carmilla both explore desire, queerness, and the fear of the
“other”. Themes the company believes are vital to reclaim in a cultural moment that
often silences alternative, queer, and female perspectives.
“Our first ever production was meant to be Dracula,
” say the company. “Covid stopped
us. But our audience kept asking when we’d return to it. Now we are, not as a straight
adaptation, but as a collision. By merging both stories of Dracula and Carmilla into one ,
we’re asking who gets to be the monster, who gets to desire, and who gets to be free.”
The ask
The crowdfunder will support artist fees, rehearsal space, and professional
documentation of the process, with a work-in-progress sharing at the R&D’s conclusion.
The company ultimately aims for a month-long London run and tour.
As London Theatre Reviews noted: “Midnight Circle’s approach results in a vivid and
engaging performance that captivates audiences.”