Over 10 gallons of stage blood will be used during this production of Dracula! “The blood is the life” says the raving lunatic Renfield, and blood is certainly a key part of any production of Dracula. In the era when Dracula was written, medical science was still in it’s infancy and the focus was certainly on the blood. Bleeding to remove impurities in the body was coming and just going out of practice. Blood transfusions were just being tried but, since no one yet knew that there were different blood types, these often lead to tragedy. The idea that blood could be sucked out of humans goes back millennia and has been part of the folklore of many cultures. For the blood onstage, we have three recipes, one of which is actually edible!
Audiences are in for a theatrical, gory treat this Halloween. Charleston Stage’s Dracula opens tonight at the Historic Dock Street Theatre! Purchase tickets online at www.charlestonstage.com or call the Box Office at (843) 577-7183 M-F, 12pm-5pm.