Carmilla at WildClaw Theatre | Theater review

YOUR BIGGEST FANU Petro, right, gets attached to Burch.

Photo: John W. Sisson Jr.

Carmilla, Le Fanu’s 1872 gothic vampire story, holds the double distinction of predating Bram Stoker’s Dracula by 25 years and of getting a head start on associating lesbians with vampires. The novella’s blood-sucking antiheroine is arguably the prototype for a string of lesbian vampires who have appeared in popular novels and exploitation films, often for the dubious purposes either of titillation or of making a homophobic argument about gay people prowling the earth for prey.

Carmilla, Le Fanu’s 1872 gothic vampire story, holds the double distinction of predating Bram Stoker’s Dracula by 25 years and of getting a head start on associating lesbians with vampires. The novella’s blood-sucking antiheroine is arguably the prototype for a string of lesbian vampires who have appeared in popular novels and exploitation films, often for the dubious purposes either of titillation or of making a homophobic argument about gay people prowling the earth for prey.

Of course, writing for a Victorian audience, Le Fanu could only hint at the girl-on-girl stuff. It’s all flushing faces and racing pulses and curiously strong protestations of affection, but the single-minded intensity with which Carmilla fastens on her virginal victim, Laura—apparently vampires were clingy long before Edward Cullen came along—can mean only one thing. As in all such tales, bloodthirstiness serves as a thinly veiled substitute for sexual desire.

Just so there’s no remaining doubts on the matter, WildClaw makes the novella’s hinted homoeroticism explicit by adding same-sex kisses and turning up the heat on Carmilla’s nocturnal visitations. In fact, director Cummins has upped the octane all around, incorporating savage fight choreography (designed by the director), a propulsive original score by Scott Tallarida and Mikhail Fiksel and an ass-kicking lead performance from Petro as Carmilla. The result isn’t quite the story Le Fanu wrote—instead, it’s an improvement.