Nosferatu — Malthouse Theatre

Overview

Ever since 1922, every movie that's been made about vampires owes a debt to Nosferatu. On the Malthouse Theatre stage in 2023, so does Australia's latest world-premiere theatre production. The Melbourne theatre company is taking inspiration from the cinematic masterpiece in a new drama that shares its name — but, giving the tale an Aussie twist, it's setting its horror story in a Tasmanian mining town.

Hailing from writer Keziah Warner, and starring Jacob Collins Levy (The White Princess), this take on Nosferatu heads to a locale that residents are keen to restore, hoping that its glory days can return. To achieve that feat, they embrace a mysterious investor. If you've seen the film, however, you'll now that its central figure always has quite the taste for blood — no matter the other narrative details around him.

People disappearing, questions no one wants to ask, getting more than one bargains for: that's how Malthouse's Nosferatu goes from there, as theatre attendees can see during its debut season from Friday, February 10–Sunday, March 5 in the Merlyn Theatre. And yes, Nosferatu has always owed its own debt, too, given that the OG version has quite the similarities to Bram Stoker's Dracula.

Malthouse's date with the influential story marks its latest page-to-stage show, after adapting classic Aussie book Looking for Alibrandi in 2022.

Nosferatu's world-premiere season runs from Friday, February 10–Sunday, March 5 at the Merlyn Theatre, 113 Sturt Street, Southbank, Melbourne. Head to the Malthouse Theatre website for tickets and further details.

Top image: Kristian Gehradte.