The Lewes Public Library Shakespeare Festival brings New York City's own David Logan Rankin to perform staged readings of two vampire-themed pieces for Halloween. The first, John William Polidoris’ 1819 piece, The Vampyre, was written as a short work of prose fiction as part of a contest that produced Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. It is perhaps the first written work to combine the various elements of the vampire tale into a coherent literary work. Joining Rankin in this reading is Lewes’ own Sadie Andros. The second piece The Last Vampire, is a solo piece written and read by David Logan Rankin. It is a chilling experience as the audience interacts directly with the vampire as he tells us of his experiences in the hundreds of years of his existence among us. The piece is compelling with just the right amount of suspense to generate an enthralling Halloween experience. These stories are intended for adults due to thematic material and language, and are not appropriate for families with young children.

Singled out for excellence time and again by the New York theatre community, David Logan Rankin brings a strong artistic sensibility shaped with a craft honed by decades of experience on New York and regional stages, in television, film, video, and the recording studio. Sadie is well known to local audiences through her performances at Clear Space, her regular appearances with the Shakespeare Festival offerings, and in her work as the drama teacher at Cape Henlopen High School.

This performance is on the lawn behind the library. For your comfort, bring a lawn chair or blanket to sit on, and dress for the weather. Social distancing areas will be marked out for attendees and masks that cover the mouth and nose are required by all. If the ground is wet, we will provide plastic sheeting for everyone to use.

Registration is required.

The Shakespeare Festival, a program of the Lewes Public Library since 2015, seeks to provide the community with experiences that foster the understanding of Shakespeare and the world in which he lived and wrote. In addition the Festival fosters the development of new works celebrating the spoken word and hosting performances of classical texts.

This program is supported, in part, by a grant from the Delaware Division of the Arts, a state agency, in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts. The Division promotes Delaware arts events on DelawareScene.com.