Staff at Derby Museum are urging members of the public to get their teeth into a highly successful Dracula exhibition before it ends this weekend.
The exhibition, “Dracula Returns to Derby – 101 Years and Counting”, has seen visitors from all over the world descend on Pickfords’ House in Friar Gate to check out its spooky exhibits inspired by Bram Stoker’s famous creation.
They include Christopher Lee’s original scarlet and black cloak from his Hammer Horror days and a cane belonging to Hamilton Deane – the theatre impresario responsible for the first theatre production of Dracula staged in Derby in 1924.
The exhibition has been so popular it has boosted visitor numbers to Derby Museums by 15 per cent, brought in a whopping 7,700 per cent spike in shop sales and been extended by another month.
Now, with the exhibition set to come to a close on Saturday, Derby Museums is urging anyone who has not had the chance to see it to do so, before it disappears into the night.
The exhibition was inspired by the first stage production of Dracula, which opened at Derby’s Grand Theatre, now House of Holes in Babington Lane, on May 15, 1924.
Directed by Hamilton Deane, the original production was the first to depict Dracula as a smooth, well-dressed man wearing a black opera cloak – the look which is now the blueprint for the world’s most iconic vampire.
Deane toured with his play for three years before it opened in London, where it remained hugely popular, and then he took it to Broadway, where the title role was performed by Bela Lugosi.
Lugosi later starred in the 1931 film version, making Dracula, black cloak and all, an icon of cinematic horror.
Dan Webber, Derby Museums events programmer, said: “It’s easy to forget how shocking the original production was. They had live mice running across the stage, they had a fake bat, which they threw through the window and it smashed the glass at the end of the second act.
“The story goes that people did flee the theatre, it was so scary.
“Hamilton Deane always brought new work here because of how well Derby audiences responded to it. His adaptation of Dracula opened here to great acclaim and the first talking film version of Dracula is an adaptation of Hamilton Deane’s play, not Bram Stoker’s novel.”
Bela Lugosi eventually visited Derby in 1951, playing Dracula as part of the UK revival of the stage show. He performed at the Hippodrome in Green Lane, again to great acclaim.
However, the strain of touring was taking its toll on Lugosi.
Dan added: “It’s allegedly here that Bela Lugosi said, ‘It’s never going to get better than Derby. I’ve had a great response. I’m getting too old for this’.
“He cut the tour short and died five years later.”
Visitors to the show at Pickfords’ House can see further star exhibits such as Bela Lugosi’s autograph and sit in a magnificent Black Abyss Throne, designed by UK sculptor and artist Liam Brandon Murray.
Dan said: “Dracula Returns to Derby – 101 Years and Counting has been a brilliant thing to be part of. We’ve had a great response from the people of Derby and we’ve had visitors from all over the world come to it, plus special guests like Dacre Stoker, Bram Stoker’s great grand-nephew, which has been incredible.
“We’ve attracted new audiences both to the city and the museum. People don’t expect to see a Dracula exhibition in a listed Georgian townhouse, but the show has a tongue-in-cheek quality and a sense of fun, and a surprising wow factor.
“I’m really proud of the show and I hope people have enjoyed it and learned from it and have been given another reason to love and care about Derby as a city.”
The Dracula work will now carry on in the city thanks to a special trail, which has its own QR code to enable visitors to find out more about the connection between Dracula and the city.
“Dracula Returns to Derby – 101 Years and Counting” runs until Saturday and is open from Tuesday onwards from 10am to 5pm. Entrance is free.
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