‘Blood’ Makes Sport of Victorian Demons

When a pallid maiden objects to garlic wreaths (“This is Ireland--not Italy!”) and wraps a concealing scarf around her neck, you can bet your eyeteeth there’s a vampire in the vicinity. And in “Tainted Blood” at the Lankershim Arts Center, you won’t be disappointed.

Taking wing on fine Road Theatre Company performances, Tom Jacobson’s clever satiric pastiche pits Oscar Wilde (Christopher Faville), Bram Stoker (Lance Guest) and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (Mark Merkell) against the undead. Drawing on the three writers’ shared fascination with the occult, Jacobson assembles them at Wilde’s Irish estate for a demonstration by a sinister Indian mesmerist (played with charmingly oozing decadence by Dana Pere.)

A dizzying tapestry of literary and mythological vampire lore overlays Wilde’s own demons--forbidden homosexuality and his yearning for immortality, a struggle Faville keeps refreshingly buoyant and pretension-free. Merkell’s Doyle (in his youthful skeptic period) supplies the rational counterpoint compromised by the same cocaine addiction that plagued his famous creation, Sherlock Holmes. Less pivotal to the plot is Guest’s Stoker, included principally in honor of his being the author of “Dracula.”

As Wilde’s menaced fiancee, Marci Hill deftly illustrates the conflicting pulls of Victorian propriety and chaotic sexuality that lend the vampire archetype its erotic charge. Laura Gardner is hilarious as her guardian aunt, shrugging off horrific events with Lady Bracknell-esque epigrams. A hotblooded serving wench (Shauna Bloom) and seductive (to Wilde, at any rate) stable boy (Todd Buteaux) flesh out the cast.

Like many a drawing-room vampire yarn, this one isn’t without a few stiffly mannered moments. But when you’re not engrossed in the sly allusions, relish the abundant special effects--a highly evocative and detailed period collaboration of Desma Murphy (sets), Moira Moore (costumes), Nancee Waterhouse (makeup) and Stephanie Losleben (lighting). While serving up plenty of Halloween laughs and shivers, Michael Michetti’s flamboyant staging can at times be literally chilling. Bring a sweater.

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* “Tainted Blood,” Lankershim Arts Center, 5108 Lankershim Blvd., North Hollywood. Fridays, Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 7 p.m. Ends Nov. 22. $15. (818) 377-2002. Running time: 2 hours, 30 minutes.