In this talk, Dr. Brian Richmond will take us step-by-step through his process of creating his current theatrical adaptation of Bram Stoker’s 19th-century masterpiece of gothic horror, Dracula. By addressing the question of what obligations contemporary storytellers have in engaging with the iconic tales of another era, he poses the question of how to unleash the power and impact of these stories for new generations. By tackling head-on what he sees as our society’s tendency to trivialize horror, he proposes that it is only by leading audiences on a genuine journey through the terror that we can accomplish the escape into the light and healing contained in what he sees as one of our most optimistic approaches to storytelling.
Professor Richmond is a director, dramaturge and adaptor who has directed nearly 150 productions for theatres across Canada, the US and Mexico. He has worked on the development of play scripts with several of his generation's leading playwrights—several of which have gone on to be nominated or win Governor General, Chalmers or Dora Mavor Moore awards as well as highly successful runs at theatres such as the National Arts Centre, the Shaw Festival, Montreal’s Centaur Theatre, Canadian Stage, Edmonton’s Citadel Theatre, Theatre Calgary and the Arts Club Theatre in Vancouver.
He is the founding artistic director of Saskatoon’s Persephone Theatre and Victoria’s Blue Bridge Repertory Theatre and also held this position at Montreal’s Playwright’s Workshop, Thunder Bay’s Magnus Theatre and Toronto’s Theatre Passe Muraille. He was the past chair of the Department of Theatre at UVic where he has been leading students through their explorations of the art of directing, acting and script analysis for the past 23 years.
Deans' Lecture Series
Research is continually reshaping the way we live and think. In these online talks you'll hear from distinguished members of the faculties at the University of Victoria and learn about their research interests.
