Vampire Hospital Waiting Room
11th November
3 Stars
With all the recent talk of strikes in the NHS, my biggest worry is that Vampire Hospital Waiting Room might give Jeremy Hunt some ideas. The show has come to the West End fresh from a successful run at the Edinburgh Fringe, where it received positive reviews and even a thumbs up from comic Jo Brand.
There was a Fringe atmosphere at the Arts Theatre, with intimate seating and a later 10pm start time. The play tells the story of handsome billionaire Arty Baldwin, who is left wheelchair-bound and comatose after a car crash. The bizarre and eccentric Dr. Bloom becomes convinced Arty is the Vampire Lord and sets about awakening his new master. Arty is joined at his bedside by his doting secretary and his evil wife (who wants to see him meet his maker so she can claim his fortune).
It’s a very silly plot but the production gives it a ‘Little Shop of Horrors’ style cultish sheen that is charming and enjoyable. The script is generally funny, with some nice stagey in-jokes (talk of a ‘murder off stage’ and a seemingly endless scene change) as well as some sharp dialogue. It’s a very short play (hence the short review) but it has enough energy and pace that it leaves you wanting more.
The songs are rather less successful, seeming to lack the wittiness and wackiness of the spoken parts. It’s not helped by the fact that the singing ability within the cast is highly inconsistent, with only three of them (Abby Jackson, Martin MacLennan and Roz Ford) possessing the sort of voices that can make a big number their own.
Luckily the acting is consistently strong; Joe McArdle is a wonderfully creepy and hilarious doctor. I suspected he had a comedy background based on his ability to nail a punchline - closer inspection proves that indeed the case. Abby Jackson was a perfect sidekick as the nurse, possessing the aforementioned brilliant singing voice and a sort of Carry On cheeky humour that felt straight out of a B-movie.
It seemed to be a primarily Scottish cast and sometimes accents would get lost somewhere over Hadrian’s Wall or the Atlantic, particularly Craig Methven as the American Arty. There was excellent comic relief from John Rushton as an unsettling priest and Martin MacLennan as the sort of incoherent drunk you will find in any hospital waiting room.
It is easy to see why Vampire Hospital Waiting Room was such a hit at the Fringe; it has a quirky cultish charm that makes it stand out from the crowd. It’s certainly not polished; at times it feels a bit like watching some mates messing around, but that is also a large part of its appeal.
Vampire Hospital Waiting Room runs at Arts Theatre until 21 November 2015
Danny Coleman-Cooke is an experienced writer, who covers news, sport and comedy for high-profile personalities and broadcasters. His speeches and scripts can be seen on stage, on primetime TV and in Parliament, broadcast to wide and diverse audiences. His experience includes writing for the BBC’s Have I Got News for You, Channel 4’s Paralympics coverage, and the Premier League’s live match commentary. He has also managed social media accounts for a number of major brands, including Tesco, The Guardian and the BBC. He's also a well-established speechwriter, scriptwriter and copywriter and has written for a wide range of famous faces in the world of politics and entertainment. He recently had his first theatrical credit, as co-writer of a musical adaptation of Beowulf, which toured the Midlands and was performed at the Royal Albert Hall. Danny is a huge theatre fan and was part of the writing team for the 2015 and 2016 Olivier Awards.
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