Always on
This project successfully funded on 10th April 2026, you can still support them with a donation.
Vampyre R&D
London, Greater London, United Kingdom
Aim
We want to Research & develop a new theatre production called "Vampyre" - a mash up of Bram Stoker's Dracula and Sheridan Le Fanu Carmilla.
Midnight Circle
We are a non-traditional, award winning theatre company breathing new life into the themes of Gothic Literature through innovative staging and bold reinterpretations of classic texts.
Midnight Circle presents character-driven, progressive stories in extraordinary places, guided by values of inclusive casting, ensemble collaboration, bold innovation, and a passion for the darkly romantic exploration of desire, fear, and transformation.
Vampyre
Vampyre is a visceral, character-driven exploration of intimacy, power, desire,
monstrosity, and fear.
Our upcoming devised production reimagines the gothic horror tradition through a bold, contemporary lens although staying true to the time period keeping it set in the late 19th century. Drawing on Bram Stoker’s Dracula and Sheridan Le Fanu’s Carmilla, two defining works of the genre, the piece brings these stories into direct conversation.
Dracula’s patriarchal grandeur colliding with Carmilla’s intimate, queer sensuality.
Within this world, we explore figures wrestling with faith, repression, love, and
transformation: the charm and control of patriarchy unmasked, the pull between
devotion and vengeance, the yearning to break free from the roles society demands.
Vampyre questions how “evil” is born when desire and freedom are denied.
R&D
We would like to run a two week R&D to explore this further and start devising our show.
The funds will be used to pay our actors and creative team, secure rehearsal space, and produce professionally filmed and photographed content, allowing us to document the process, learn as we go, and build towards the next stage.
We want to expand the definition of what gothic theatre can be, by making it inclusive, relevant, and reflective of modern audiences. We want to deeply explore female and queer perspectives within a traditionally male-dominated genre, Vampyre challenges inherited ideas of monstrosity, what beauty is, and how hungry we are for power.
We would love to empower emerging artists through our devising process, ensuring that collaboration and inclusion are embedded at every level, which at the core is our company’s ethos.
"Midnight Circle's approach combining character improvisation and in depth scene work results in a vivid and engaging performance that captivates audiences" ***** London Theatre Reviews
Funding method
Keep what you raise – this project will receive all pledges made