Vampires! Vampires! Vampires! – The Guildhall, Hull

Writer: Eve Nichol

Director: Alex Mitchell

The audience files into The Guildhall, Hull to be greeted by an imposing backdrop against a semicircle of lantern topped tables. They are split into The Lubricants (the ten actual players of tonight’s game, who will shortly be possessed by the 1897 Hull City Council), and The Citizens (who are simply there to observe and occasionally guide the action). After a brief discussion about content and consent, the show begins. In swans author La Brique La Mort (Alex Mitchell), here to complete their newest literary offering A Bat Out of Hull, detailing the time that vampires tried to take over the city at the end of the 19^th century. Except they have a problem: they have no idea how the book ends! But no problem, with a quick and dirty séance the Hull City Council are back in situ and ready to help them work it out.

Audience members with experience of social deduction games like Secret Hitler and especially Avalon will follow what happens next easily, but even for the uninitiated it’s simple mechanics. For up to five rounds, Mitchell presents a scenario, such as bats blocking out the sun in the local park, and the Council has to come up with ideas of how to fix that (eg, “Release a sh*t tonne of hawks” – your reviewer was very proud to come up with that one!). A rotating Council Chair picks their favourite and selects a team of three or four people to enact the solution, and then the Council as a whole votes yay or nay on this subcommittee. If yay’d, the subcommittee secretly pick if they want the action to succeed or be sabotaged. Yes, sabotaged, for some members of the Council are secret vampires, and they only need to sabotage two scenarios to take over entirely…

Mitchell is a wonderful host, oozing charisma and with an incredibly quick wit. If you have seen Silent Uproar Theatre’s sister show Night of the Werewolves Live you will have seen them in a similar compare role, and this is next level. Campy, kinky, and endlessly endearing, they pull participation out of even the least giving of The Lubricants, crafting improvised plot based on the oft frankly ridiculous suggestions, as well as dropping into scripted stories and preplanned bits with charm and elegance. You’ll be rooting for their toxic love B plot by the end of the night that’s for certain! Jenni Harrison has also dressed them beautifully, a modern androgenous outfit that would stun and amaze in 1897 AND 2026.

The game works as much because of Mitchell as because of the ambiance created by Ian Hinley’s scenic art, Adam Foley’s lighting and Eddi Pickard’s sound. A magnetic game board displays successes and failures for all to see, with appropriately illustrated icons. Creepy background music rises and falls to bring the drama when called upon. Lanterns flare blue when selections are made, and red when sabotage wins. The whole stage changes from soft and warm to cool and bright for Mitchell’s interspersed monologues. La Mort’s Renfield (Ashley ‘Cubby’ Cantwell) ably controls the tech on a whim to elevate the magic of the evening.

Sadly, despite having two of her suggestions taken up by the Council, tonight your reviewer was not successful in saving Hull. The vampires stormed it, with two flying completely under everyone’s radar. As we emerged from the shadows into the dying light of the late summer, we all agreed that just means we need to come back and try again. Silent Uproar have hit on a winner with their reskins of these games, and it’s exciting to see what they will come up with next or how new player will evolve new stories. A highly recommended evening for those who don’t mind a bit of 18+ humour, some light flirting, and a good dollop of kitschy horror.

Runs until 5 September 2026