Review: MAP’s “Blood Countess” Is Deliciously Dark

Blood Countess
MAP Theatre (at 18^th and Union)
Through February 24, 2024

Ten years ago (ok, 9 ½), Annex Theatre produced a world premiere by local “goth” playwright Kelleen Conway Blanchard called Blood Countess. The subject is a poetic and evocative telling of a real-life noblewoman, Elizabeth Bathory, whose life spawned many folktales after her life and death in the 1500s, including that she maimed, tortured, and killed hundreds of young women. There were claims of vampirism!

Blanchard has a very unique writing voice and often blends macabre humor and sexuality into her work. Laughter is inextricably mixed with dark subjects. Here, Blanchard had a wide-open field to imagine the life of Bathory. And imagine she does. The play begins with Bathory’s childhood, then marriage to a fellow sadist, up to her final captivity and end.

Brandon Ryan plays two key roles – both of them impeccably and specially as only Ryan can play. Bathory’s Mother is venal, crazy and abusive, and then a strange man arrives to be Bathory’s servant, Fitzco. Fitzco is a mystery all to himself, but here he literally “feeds” girls to the Countess to assuage her need to drink their blood to stay “pretty!”

Zenaida Rose Smith, in the title role, displays a full range of emotions and facially transmits all kinds of information through her expressions: longing to be accepted for herself, developing awareness of her own powers and desires, and progressing into a raging, crazy and megalomaniacal fully-grown woman.

Jojo Salamanca is Dorkus, the nursemaid and main house servant who must comply with her masters and then somehow clean up after bloody messes she has to pretend not to understand. Van Lang Pham is Elizabeth’s husband Ferenc, a nobleman who enjoys her sadism and encourages it to new heights. He skirts the edge of caricature, but adds a lot of creepy fun.

Heather Persinger plays a sleazy priest who has known the family and is trying, unsuccessfully, to bring attention to disappearing young girls who are last seen at Elizabeth’s manor. However, he is no saint!

Jasmine (Jazz) Flora is new to me as an actor and she is astonishing (in a good way) as she plays several young women who are introduced and quickly disappear, through changes in costume, language and demeanor, along with a dark “fairy” of some kind who might inhabit Countess’ dreams.

The mayhem is ably directed by Peggy Gannon. With Robin Macartney’s support for set design, Angelo Domitri providing creepy lighting, costuming from Jocelyn Fowler, and sound by Joseph Swartz, the overall effect is a sophisticated production. There were a few moments when a bit more gore seemed missing (not that I love gore on stage at all, but some of those transitions with the tortured girls were abrupt). Go get your fright on and also experience a multi-layered biography.

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