Jugular Vain
by Paul Kerslake
2-Act Play, Comedy / 4f, 4m
When a reformed, vegetarian Count Dracula opens his home as a weekend bed and breakfast, he doesn’t reckon on the first six guests being quite so strange.
Rod, An environmentalist thug of a businessman who has brought along Siobhan, his “secretary fiancée”. Clemency, an ecowarrior and campaigner who has an instant dislike of Rod and quite the liking for the Count. Rebekah, an anti-vampire zealot who seems intent on seeing the end of Dracula and Kevin and Debbie, two thrill-seekers whose bladder control may cost the Count more in upholstery cleaning bills than he’ll make on the whole weekend. Relying on his faithful servant, Gunther-Gunther the Count figures he will be able to manage, but when the corpses start piling up he begins to wonder if he really has turned over a new leaf, or has he been tempted back into the night.
There’s a lot at stake and after all, it’s never wise to cross a vampire.
Single-set, 2-act comedy horror stage play for a cast of 4f 4m (potentially 5f 3m).
For performance licensing enquires, please email: plays@leschenaultpress.com with the following details:
Name of the company – Venue Address – Number of seats (maximum) – Number of performances
Licence fees typically range from £65 (Aud$125 / US$85) or upwards per performance, depending on the above criteria.
About the play.
Jugular Vain was was an award winning original script in the RAF Theatrical Association’s Playwright competition in the early 1990’s and an award winning production when first staged by the RAF Wyton Players in 1993. A funny, clever and ‘easy-to-stage’ play, it is still hugely relevant in its themes and references. In fact sadly, when revived in 2023 for its Thirtieth Anniversary, most of the environmental references about pollution and misuse of the planet did not need to be updated at all. It seems somethings are as timeless as the Count himself.