Barnabas, Angelique and Maggie Evans return for BLOODLUST

Lara Parker, Andrew Collins and Kathryn Leigh Scott.

Kathryn Leigh Scott, Lara Parker and Andrew Collins are returning to the roles of Maggie Evans, Angelique Bouchard and Barnabas Collins for the upcoming Big Finish serial DARK SHADOWS: BLOODLUST.

“Like any soap opera, DARK SHADOWS often involves a love triangle,” says co-producer Joseph Lidster. “But unlike other shows, the central love triangle in Dark Shadows is between a vampire, the witch who turned him, and the manager of the local motel.”

Kathryn Leigh Scott and Lara Parker were stars of the original DARK SHADOWS television series as well as appearing in the spin-off films, and are now Big Finish veterans. “Maggie and Angelique have a long history,” says co-producer David Darlington, “but there’s still so much more of their story to tell. Both characters are heavily-involved in Bloodlust’s central murder mystery. Angelique has killed many times before  - could she be the murderer? Maggie has always been an innocent but she’s been through so much. Has she finally lost her sanity?”

Barnabas, the ancient vampire, left Collinsport at the end of "Kingdom of the Dead" - banished by Maggie Evans as she finally learnt of his true nature. Has he come back to get revenge on her? Or does he return for other reasons?”

“It's been a while since we last met him, but we couldn’t not have Andrew back as Barnabas,” says Joseph Lidster. “His portrayal of the tortured vampire is just fantastic. Finding a way to bring him back to the town was one of the real challenges of writing Bloodlust. One thing I will say is that the dynamics and relationship between Maggie, Barnabas and Angelique are going to be changed forever ..."

Parker, Scott and Collins joins the already announced cast that includes Matthew Waterhouse, Alec Newman, Roger Carvalho, Asta Parry, Scott Haran and Stephanie Ellyne.

DARK SHADOWS: BLOODLUST is a 13-part miniseres set to begin in early January, with two MP3 installments in the series scheduled to be released weekly on Tuedays and Fridays. The series will later be collected in two compact disc collections.  It's available to pre-order HERE.


Big Finish has an official Soundcloud page that includes dozens of teasers and behind-the-scenes recordings from their various DARK SHADOWS productions. The site includes introductions from the nine cast members that have been announced. Listen to them HERE.

DARK SHADOWS: THE FAVORITE FIVE

Last month, The Collinsport Historical Society asked you to name your five favorite DARK SHADOWS audio dramas from Big Finish. Every day this week we'll be revealing the results.

#4 The House of Despair

Released in 2003, “The House of Despair” is the first DARK SHADOWS audio drama from Big Finish. Set not long after the end of the original television series, the story featured a reunion of DARK SHADOWS cast members old and new.  David Selby, Lara Parker, John Karlen and Kathryn Leigh Scott reprised their roles from the television series, as well as a cameo appearance by Robert Rodan.

Because Jonathan Frid was still resistant to the idea of once again playing Barnabas Collins, the role went to the aptly named Andrew Collins.

“‘The House of Despair’ seems like a very long time ago,” said Stuart Manning, the story’s writer. “I remember arriving for the first day of recording in blazing L.A. sunshine and thinking how un-Dark Shadowsy it all felt.”

“I hadn’t watched an episode of the TV series when’ The House of Despair’ was released but I loved it,” said Joe Lidster, who today produces the DARK SHADOWS line for Big Finish. “There’s something very simple and elegant about it. I had the pleasure of listening to it again recently as our forthcoming ‘Bloodlust’ ties into certain elements of it.”

The episode was produced during one of DARK SHADOWS’ many resurgences. In 2000, producer Dan Curtis was planning a stage musical based on the original television series. In 2004, Curtis succeeded in shooting a pilot for a new primetime incarnation of DARK SHADOWS ... though the series was not picked up.

David Selby, Lara Parker, John Karlen and Kathryn Leigh Scott

“The House of Despair” was not the first time the cast of DARK SHADOWS had convened in a recording studio. Three years earlier, much of the cast gathered in New York to record a two-hour play that had previously been performed as part of the annual Dark Shadows Festival. Written by Jamison Selby, “Return to Collinwood” was designed to tie up plot threads left dangling by the abrupt cancellation of DARK SHADOWS in 1971.

“DARK SHADOWS on audio was a bit new and daunting for everyone and our cast had an air of polite wariness about the whole enterprise,” Manning said. “Fortunately that soon lifted as we got to work. The play itself was nuts-and-bolts - it was effectively our opening night, written with no more ambition than to explain the concept to new listeners and get the characters up and running. That was enough to fill an hour; it didn't leave room for much besides.”

Rather than dwell on the past, “The House of Despair” was intended to move the story forward. Still, Manning said it took a while for Big Finish to find its own voice.

“We drew a little on the then-recent 2004 Warner Bros pilot, which probably makes it seem a little dated now,” Manning said. “Doing it again, I'd have worried less about trying to create our own distinct version of DARK SHADOWS and just trusted in the strength of the format. We were learning as we went along, but it's nice to see that people still remember it.”