HAVING read the book, seen the film and practically worn the T-shirt, I was pleasantly surprised that the Northern Ballet Theatre's production of Bram Stoker's Dracula still sent a chill down my spine.

Set to Philip Feeney's score, the bloodcurdling tale was eerily brought to life on stage. And the company did not put a foot wrong in their reincarnation of the gothic plot.

A young solicitor, Jonathan Harker, (Jonathan Beale), sets off to Transylvania to tie up some business with the mysterious Count Dracula, who is buying some property in England.

Settled into the Count's castle, Jonathan is seduced by three vampire women, who are only placated by the offering of a young child to satisfy their craving for blood.

Haunted by his alien and chilling experiences, Jonathan returns a changed man.

A sense of impending doom

pervades the rest of the action as Count Dracula arrives in England and tightens his hold on the characters.

Devices, such as black clad characters, who slither on stage as though they are dragging at the character's souls, crashing storms and brandished crucifixes are used to full effect.

The ballet is genuinely eerie as victims succumb to Dracula's vampire seduction.

Lucy Westenra, the best friend of Jonathan's wife, Mina, is the first to fall to his blood-sucking charms and becomes a vampire.

When Mina is then kidnapped the male characters are determined to rescue her from the dark side.

In a horrible, gothic crescendo a stake is driven through the heart of Dracula and the characters are left to come to terms with their experiences.

From deepest Transylvania, when villagers enact a violent ritual to ward off the vampires' lust for human blood, to late 19th century England the attention to detail was immaculate and the sets believable.

Although he received boos at the end Darren Goldsmith put in a tremendous performance as the ghastly and gruesome Count Dracula.

He led a strong cast, whose dancing seduced the audience with as much success as Dracula overpowered his victims' will.

Vivienne Francis.