Dracula at the Civic

Douglas McCubbin cuts a chilling figure as Dracula, a role he has played many times before.

The compelling beat of a monstrous heart - a recurring motif in Philip Feeney's dramatic score - sets the dark and bloody atmosphere of this primal horror tale from the outset.

Urgent, fearful, aroused, it provides the underlying rhythm of a story rich in every facet of Gothic gore that is only stilled with that final plunge of a stake through the Ultimate Vampire's heart.

Costumes, set and score play a huge role in the success of this production.

The set swivels with huge economy and maximum effect, stretching from moving train carriage and Transylvanian village square to gloomy castle of towering proportion; from elegant tea room to cathedral crypt.

Costumes are a parade of period couture, yet subtle enough to allow Dracula's signature crimson cape to star.

The score, the pulse point, provides every nuance of the story as it unfolds, with some interesting uses of human voice included.

The production values are all there, with bells on. And the youthful Royal New Zealand Ballet dancers make up for what they may lack in experience - in a work that requires at least as much theatrical nous as it does balletic technique - with a load of enthusiasm for the task at hand.

Douglas McCubbin, playing Dracula, has no lack of experience. He has become a specialist in the role during his travels, and cuts a chilling figure, with all the ruthless power required to lynchpin the production.

His duet with the hapless Jonathan Harker (Mikhael Plain) has the awful cruelty of a malevolent and sensual cat tormenting a doomed mouse.

The experience of Vivencio Samblaceno also shows in his sterling performance as Dr Van Helsing, the noble and good counterpoint to Dracula's evil.

Natasha Purcell shines as Mina Harker, and Dracula's bewitched blood bride.

But Lucy Balfour, as the exuberant Lucy Westenra, is the show's brightest star, lighting up the stage with her energy and precocious presence, as both the flirtatious fiancee and first lady of the Nosferatu, the Undead!