Take a bite out of this: Bogan Dracula debuts at the Royale Theatre

Award-winning local theatre crew Bogan Literature are back with a new show, bringing their take on the literary classic Dracula to the Royale Theatre from Thursday, September 10, to Sunday, September 20—with tickets on sale now. Set in the regional Western Australian town of Narrogin, the production puts a distinctly local spin on Bram Stoker’s tale. Ahead of the show’s debut, BRAYDEN EDWARDS caught up with creator and producer Dean Lovatt to talk all things Wheatbelt, shotguns and sun protection.

Bogan Literature are back again this year with a new show called Dracula. It seems like an early gift for the Halloween season! What are some aspects of this production that you are excited to show audiences this year?

Yeah, we actually originally planned to do this season during Halloween, but then production schedules, venue availability, crew availability, etc.—it happens. I’m excited to show our take on this text for sure. We usually try to blend the classic elements with the modern ones, but in this case, we’ve smashed the two right into each other instead.

Picture the most archetypal old-school Dracula you can, then pick him up and drop him in the heart of the Wheatbelt. Lots of those fun moments where the characters are like, “You’re a bit weird, mate,” and “Guess he’s just European,” as Dracula glides off, hissing at them.

I’m also really happy with just how badass our central femme protagonist, Mina, is, and can’t wait for folks to enjoy that. We’ve given her a lot more agency than the original. It was a pretty low bar, to be fair! Also…a shotgun. And our Van Helsing is a real fun take. I won’t spoil it too much, but I’m sure by the end, the audience will be asking themselves whether the classic vampire hunter is a hero or maybe the true villain all along.

Narrogin is a long way from Transylvania. Why of all places does Dracula decide to make this his new home?

Why would anyone move across the globe, all the way to a country town? For misguided love, of course. That, or maybe he just fell for the tourism pitch.

And what kinds of characters can we expect to meet in this seemingly ordinary Wheatbelt town?

A bit of everything really—a badass Aussie femme fatale, a fabulous queer man, a lovable dumb tradie, an eccentric ‘health guru’ with arcane knowledge, a hilariously obsequious fanboy—the list goes on.

What’s the most challenging part of being a vampire in Australia?

The UV Index. And the sunscreen just can’t be trusted. It’ll say SPF 50, but is it? You really willing to bet your life on that?

What’s something interesting you learned about the text or its author in your researching and rehearsing for this show?

I don’t know if it’s a particularly insightful insight, but I definitely learned that Van Helsing was much more of a grub than I thought. He’s this weird, inappropriate, horny old Dutch dude. He definitely locks in when the time comes to hunt those vampires, but wowzah. Popular culture had me picturing more of a heroic Hugh Jackman type, for obvious reasons. Safe to say our version channels a bit of that, although in a very, very different direction.

Are there any other literary classics that BS Productions might like to sink their teeth into next?

Oh yeah! Always a fun question. We tossed around a few other Halloween-ey shows at the same time as this one. Maybe a Bogan Frankenstein, or potentially Dr Jeckyll and Mr Hyde. Could see an easy pathway into the latter, for sure. Some mild-mannered Aussie bloke who gets a bit feral after he drinks his pint of “Magic Potion”.

We’ve talked about revisiting some Jane Austen, too. Emma would be at the top of that list. And revisiting Dickens with Great Expectations! The story of a young tradie apprentice who endeavours to join high society seems like fertile soil. We’ve also had minor chats about Gatsby, 1984, The Count of Monte Cristo and even a very silly concept of doing the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy in an extremely rushed, low-budget fever dream of a show. Yeah… lots of fun ideas to be sure.

Bogan Literature Presents: Dracula hits the Royale Theatre from Thursday, September 10, to Sunday, September 20, 2026. Tickets are on sale now at megatix.com.au