Published by Charles H Sergel in 1918
SUMMARY
Prince Hizen, Lord of Nabeshima, is plagued by nightmares. He dreams that his wife has been sucking blood from his throat and reveals this to his Chief Counselor and Priest. The Chief Counselor and Priest tell Prince Hizen that the samurai who are supposed to be guarding him have been falling asleep and a common soldier, Ito Soda, has taken over guard duties for the last two nights. Unlike the samurai, Ito Soda is able to stay awake because he stabs himself in the thigh with a dagger. On the first night of watch, Ito Soda observed a strange incident with Prince Hizen’s wife, O Toyo, who began moving like a cat after being visited by a cat. On the second night, Ito Soda attempted to confront O Toyo, but she vanishes. The prince determines that his wife is a vampire and orders her to be killed. That night, Ito Soda kills O Toyo.
WHY YOU SHOULD NOT READ THIS PLAY
- We do not recommend reading this play. Honestly, it is quite a boring adaptation of the original story.
- As a reader, we don’t know much about the prince or what is at stake. Is he a benevolent prince that we should root for? If the prince dies, what will happen to his people? No details are provided and Prince Hizen comes off as a generic character and we do not know how his life impacts anyone.
- We also don’t know much about the prince’s wife or their relationship. Do they have a good marriage? Are they in love? Or do they hate each other? Having some of these details would help flesh out the story and make the ending tragic and interesting.
- Overall, the play was not able to draw us in emotionally and we were not able to connect with the characters or story. We should care about whether the characters live or die, and we simply didn’t.
- Instead of reading this play we recommend watching Nabeshima kaibyô-den, Bôrei kaibyô yashiki, Kaibyô Otama ga ikei, or Kuroneko for your supernatural cat needs.
MEMORABLE LINES
STAGE DIRECTIONS. [The lantern at the head of the sleeping mat glows more and more brightly until a cat’s head appears on it. At this moment a cat-call comes from the garden. (Note.—If these effects cannot be gotten with no hint of the ludicrous, have the lantern glow with increasing light but use no cat’s head or cat call.) As [O TOYO] passes the screen ITO SODA steps out from behind it and plunges his dirk into her back; she falls with a little, stifled cry. Instantly, in utter darkness, the curtain falls.]
HISTORICAL NOTES
- Dramatic Publishing Company was founded in Chicago in 1885 by Annie Myers and Charles H Sergel. They remain a top publisher of plays and theatre resources.
- The Vampire Cat is one of several plays and films about Kaibyō (かいびょう, aka “strange cats”).
- We were unable to find biographical information about the playwright or a production history of The Vampire Cat.
Read The Vampire Cat HERE.
Photo Credit: Dominik Domno, “Black Cat,” 2016