FringeReview Scotland 2026

The Land Beyond The Forest

Firebrand Theatre Company

Genre: New Writing, Storytelling, Theatre

Venue: Duns Volunteer Hall

Festival: FringeReview Scotland

Low Down

Review

Did you know that Dracula, the best known Gothic novel of all time from Bram Stocker’s 19th century scratching pen, had its genesis in Scotland?   Nope?  Well I didn’t either.  Hardly surprising given that Dracula’s inspiration was grounded in the travel writings of the little known and barely remembered Scottish novelist-cum-anthropologist Emily Gerard about life in Transylvania.

Gerard was born in Scotland, but marriage to an Austrian soldier saw her living in Transylvania from 1883-1885, during which she travelled extensively, solo walking the Carpathian mountains in a quest to unearth and document local superstitions.

Her writings on Transylvania explored vampire folklore, terminology, and even the Transylvanian setting that ended up providing the shape to Stocker’s Dracula.  He is believed to have used both Gerard’s 1885 essay “Transylvanian Superstitions” and her 1888 book The Land Beyond the Forest as primary reference works while drafting his magnum opus.

And it’s the latter text that forms the kernel of writer/performer Ellie Zeegan’s intriguing play of the same name, describing Gerard’s travels and the research that went into the creation of what turned out to be a two volume travelogue/anthropological exposé of life in 19th century Transylvania.

Whilst the first volume focused on her initial impressions of the country, its landscapes, and its Romanian/Saxon customs, part two saw Gerard dig deeper into gypsy life and, tellingly, supernatural tales.  Illustrations and maps enhanced Gerard’s anecdotal and engaging prose as she catalogued local beliefs about the undead, especially the vampire or “nosferatu,” and detailed the methods deployed to prevent or destroy such creatures.

And Stoker clearly uses Gerard’s descriptions of how to slay a vampire in Dracula.  Simply drive a stake through the corpse, chop off the head, stuff the mouth with garlic, burn the heart and scatter the ashes, just in case you fancy trying this later in some remote part of the land beyond Duns.

Zeegan has been as meticulous in researching Gerard’s background and works for this fascinating tale as was Gerard in her exploration of the darker arts, including consulting with Dacre Stoker, the great grandnephew of Bram himself.  And there’s (allegedly) a direct connection between Zeegan and Gerard – the latter was reputedly born in Zeegan’s current Scottish Borders home in 1849.

All this (and more) is conveyed in a storytelling masterclass from Zeegan, with the narrative unfolding like the layers of an onion in this fascinating, tightly directed, sixty minute piece of theatre.  Billed as a “performed reading”, it was anything but, largely because of the quality of Zeegan’s delivery.  Yes, she had a script in her hand.  But ten minutes in, you’d stop noticing her occasional glances downwards at the printed words, such was the conviction of her delivery, her perfect enunciation and mellifluous tonality.

Using the simplest of stages, set with a chair and writing desk, and some creatively supportive lighting that somehow turned stage left into a study and stage right into a fog or sun dappled forest, Zeegan spun a tale fusing interesting biographical background with lashings of gothic theatricality.  Throw in an enchantingly ethereal soundscape that either supported the dialogue or provided a scene segue and you’ve an object lesson in how to keep an audience in the palm of your hand, hanging onto your every word.

It’s a piece of theatre/storytelling I’d love to recommend, if only I knew where it was planning to go next.  But it’s an ideal touring show, easy to set and stage, so if you spot it playing at a venue near you, seek it out.  By which time, no doubt, the barely used script will have been long since discarded.

Published May 4, 2026 by Tim Wilcock