It’s Transylvania Mania!

There are many ways you can spend a couple of hours on a dark winters night, but very few will come close to being as fun as a night with Douglas Choral Union.

The production group is back at the Gaiety with its new show, Mel Brook’s Young Frankenstein, and we got an early look ahead of the opening night.

Kicking off with Frederick Frankenstein, ‘it’s pronounced Fronkensteen!’, lecturing his students all about the brain, Young Frankenstein sets a high bar from the off and only continues to get better as the show goes on.

Played to perfection by Tony Eccles, Frederick finds himself bound for Transylvania for a date with destiny, once he has said goodbye to his dear fiancé Elizabeth, played with more than a hint of glamour by the immensely talented Sue Tummon.

From here he meets Igor, ‘pronounced Eye-gore’, portrayed by David Lyons, who steals every scene he is in and is in many ways the soul of the show.

After a charming rendition of ‘Together Again’, the two men, who despite their musical chemistry have never met before, are joined by Leah Carter’s Inga, who really gives the show its heart and sets Frederick’s pulse racing.

Arriving at his grandfather’s castle, via a somewhat racy hay ride, where Carter really shows off her wide range of talent, we meet the always brilliant Lisa Kreisky’s Frau Blucher (neigh!), who’s facial expressions tell a whole story without her even having to say a word.

The four actors form the spine of the show and it is through interactions with them that the fabulous ensemble come into play, bringing its legs and lungs to life with a range of musical and dance numbers that will leave you wanting more, while at the same time trying to get the catchy tunes out of your head.

Trust me on this, from ‘Please Don’t Touch Me’, ‘Roll in the Hay’ and ‘He Vas my Boyfriend’ to ‘Transylvania Mania’, ‘Hang Him Til He’s Dead’ and, of course, ‘Puttin’ on the Ritz’, you won’t be able to stop humming them.

Anyone with a brain, even an abnormal one, can see where this is going and in his brilliantly crafted (props to the scenery and erm props team) lab, Dr “Fronkensteen” and his team soon recreate history.

The Creature is brought to life, if you’ll pardon that awful pun, by Geoff Pugh, who somehow brings tremendous emotion to a character that offers little scope at first glance. Watch out for his interaction with the hilarious Mike Bonner’s Hermit and of course the effect his ‘enormous Schwanzstucker’ has on Elizabeth.

With the townspeople now aware of what our heroes have been up to, led by Inspector Kemp they seek to put a stop to it. You’ll have to see the show to see why this isn’t a slight, but Mark Dougherty’s performance is brilliantly stiff.

As the show heads towards its conclusion the pace quickens and the whole cast deliver something quite brilliant which will leave you wanting more.

Overall the show once again just proves what an array of talent we have on this island and I felt that it really captures the magic of Brooks’ work, so do yourself a favour and go watch it.

The show opens tonight and is on until February 18, so you have plenty of showings to choose from. You can buy tickets here.

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