Dublin City Council will be presenting the inaugural Bram Stoker Festival, My Name Is Dracula, from Friday 26th to Sunday 28th October 2012. Venture into the unknown for a gothic ‘scarefest’ like no other and discover the hidden secrets that lie beneath the capital’s streets this Halloween. Tickets and full details on the programme are available now at www.bramstokerfestival.com
The weekend will begin with a very special event featuring bestselling US crime writer Patricia Cornwell on Friday 26th at 7.30pm in the Edmund Burke Theatre,Trinity College Dublin, Bram Stoker’s alma mater. Aptly named The Anatomy of Fear from Stoker to Scarpetta, international bestseller Cornwell will talk about ways in which the serial killer has become, in some sense, a modern-day equivalent of the vampire. By comparing characters, plots and stories of Stoker to her own books featuring pathologist Kay Scarpetta, Cornwell will be lintroduced by our own Dr. Marie Cassidy, State Pathologist – this event is not to be missed. Tickets are €12 and €10 concession.
Speaking at the festival launch, the Lord Mayor of Dublin said; “Bram Stoker, the three day Halloween festival, takes young and old alike on a whirlwind tour of the city’s gothic past, guaranteeing a spine-chilling weekend of adventure. Ireland has a reputation for producing some of the best playwrights, poets and novelists in the world and amongst this extraordinary list of creative writers is none other than Bram Stoker. Dracula is considered one of the most influential horror novels off all time, inspiring countless other authors and film directors to interpret the sinister and elusive central character. It is incredible that Bram Stoker wrote this seminal novel in Dublin and we are delighted to be part of a festival that aims to celebrate that fact. With a programme of events that’s sure to delight and scare in equal measure, there is something for all the family to enjoy.”
Described as “the single most important collection of material related to Bram that has ever been put on public display” by Dacre Stoker, Bram’s great-grand-nephew, the world of Bram Stoker will be documented in a unique exhibition of memorabilia of his life and work between 1847-1912. Showing throughout the festival in the Little Museum of Dublin, Stephen’s Green, it is produced in conjunction with the Bram Stoker Estate and the John Moore Collection and features many rarities including the earliest inscribed copy of Dracula, Stoker’s first published short story – The Crystal Cup, Stoker family artefacts that have never been seen in public and the first Irish translation (1933) of Dracula.
Film lovers will be treated to unique experience with an outdoor screening of cult classic Nosferatu : A Not-So-Silent Cinema Event in Meeting House Square on Saturday at 8pm.The 1922 adaptation of Stoker’s Dracula will be brought to life with a live score played by acclaimed collective 3epkano. This event is free but pre-booking is advised to avoid disappointment.
Families will also have plenty to choose from with a host of children’s and teens workshops and events on offer over the weekend. On Saturday and Sunday at 10am, Trinity College Dublin will welcome double award winning children’s author Celine Kiernan for Blood Red Ink; an intensive writing workshop with a difference for 10-14 year olds, exploring the essentials of brilliant fiction writing that they don’t teach in school. If bats and scary stories are more your thing, make your way along to Batty Habits and Scary Stories in Smock Alley Theatre Boy’s School at 11am (for ages 8+) and find out about native Irish bats and the truth about vampires with RTÉ’s Dale Treadwell. Author illustrator Oisin McGann will reveal just how batty you need to be to create a vampire-inspired story in pictures. Later in the afternoon actor Owen Roe will be in Christchurch Cathedral for a Gothic Tales from the Crypt, an exciting hour and a half of chilling vampire and horror stories in the atmospheric underbelly of this fabulous Cathedral.
Ouroborus Theatre Company will present “Stoker” a newly written play based on the life of Bram Stoker for the festival, examining the man, the myth and the legend at Samuel Beckett Theatre, Trinity College. (Tickets available directly from Samuel Beckett Theatre and website) The Performance Corporation will deliver a new commission from Failte Ireland available for free to festival visitors, an interpretation of a Stoker short story called “The Judges House” in the stunning surroundings of Marsh’s Library where Stoker regularly visited to read.
Other highlights of this busy festival weekend include Nightmare at Smock Alley, a very special event for children aged 10+ and their families. With RTE Elev8’s Diana Bucini chatting to UK author and Bram Stoker fan Will Hill and our own bestselling Oisin McGann about scary stories and things that go bump in the night, Skullduggery Pleasant author Derek Landy will be making a special appearence and revealing exactly what scares him. Book you seats now for this free Halloween event with a difference, 5-7pm on Saturday 27th in the Banqueting Hall at Smock Alley Theatre.
Linking gothic literature to contemporary horror, two panels of experts will discuss the Dracula effect; one specifically tailored with teens in mind and another that targets the more mature audience. Find out to what extent Bram Stoker’s Dracula is responsible for the popularity of the current Vampire motif when an expert panel including moderator Edel Coffey, author and journalist Anna Carey, Will Hill and Celine Kiernan ponder what’s really at stake. Join Stoker experts Dr. Jarlath Killeen and Paul Murray along with panellists Ruth Dudley Edwards and a distant relative of Stoker himself, Senator David Norris, as they examine the conflicting elements in Dracula the novel.
Families can also look forward to a very special evening spectacle performance from award-winning street theatre company, Spraoi, conjuring up the dramatic characters and vivid imaginings of Bram Stoker within the majestic courtyard of Dublin Castle on Sunday evening October 28th.
For further information regarding tickets, times and booking for The Bram Stoker Festival log onto www.bramstokerfestival.com or email info@bramstokerfestival.com
Most events are free, but advance booking is essential. Specific information on event age suitability and booking via our website.
Dublin City Council is proud to present the inaugural Bram Stoker Festival in association with Unesco City of Literature and Dublin City Public Libraries. The festival is supported by Department of Arts Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Fáilte Ireland, Dublin City BID, Dublin City Business Association and Irish Blood Transfusion Service. Dublin City Council partners with University of Dublin, Trinity College, Office of Public Works, Dublin Castle and Temple Bar Cultural Trust as key venue partners.
The Judges House is supported by Fáilte Ireland through Sharing our Stories; The Fáilte Ireland Interpretation and Animation Project. The aim of the Fáilte Ireland Interpretation and Animation project is to enhance the visitor experience of Ireland by bringing our heritage and culture to life both inside visitor attractions and in the public spaces of key destinations.
