Sam Boniface
19 Jun 2023
Dracula’s return to London marks a milestone in the 2026 theatre calendar—not only for Cynthia Erivo’s stage return but for the audacity of the creative approach. This is theatre in transformation, daring audiences to confront fear, desire, identity—and the monsters that lie within.
Cynthia Erivo is set to return to the West End stage for the first time in a decade in a bold, one-actor reimagining of Dracula, opening at the Noël Coward Theatre on 4 February 2026. The Grammy, Emmy, and Tony Award-winning performer—also a three-time Oscar nominee—will take on all 23 roles in this radically conceived production, adapted and directed by Sydney Theatre Company’s Kip Williams.
Williams, known for his groundbreaking “cine-theatre” style, brings the same inventive vision that electrified his 2024 West End production of The Picture of Dorian Gray, in which Sarah Snook played all 26 characters. In Dracula, Erivo will portray every figure in Bram Stoker’s gothic classic, from the young solicitor Jonathan Harker and his fiancée Mina Murray, to Lucy Westenra, her array of suitors, the vampire hunter Van Helsing, and of course, Count Dracula themself.
For Erivo, best known to mainstream audiences for her role as Elphaba in the upcoming Wicked films opposite Ariana Grande, the production marks a personal and professional homecoming. “Returning to the stage feels like a homecoming, one that I’ve been craving for a long time,” she said. “To do so with a story as rich, complex, and haunting as Dracula offers a beautiful opportunity to delve into character, into myth, and into the heart of what makes us human.” The challenge, she admits, is daunting. “This show will ask everything of me—and I’m ready to give it.”
Williams is equally effusive about his collaboration with Erivo. He describes the piece as an expansion of Stoker’s original themes, especially the tension between fear and desire. “Our production offers a contemporary perspective on the vampire as a monster that lurks not beyond, but within,” he said. His creative team—many of whom worked with him on Dorian Gray—includes designer Marg Horwell, lighting designer Nick Schlieper, composer Clemence Williams, sound designer Jessica Dunn, video designer Craig Wilkinson, and dramaturg Zahra Newman.
This new Dracula promises to be a cinematic, psychological deep-dive into the mythos of the vampire—reimagined for a modern stage with cutting-edge visuals and Erivo’s magnetic stage presence at its centre. It’s a theatrical event that not only brings together one of the world’s most gifted performers with one of theatre’s most visionary directors, but also challenges the boundaries of solo performance itself.
Performances begin on 4 February 2026 and are set to run until 31 May at the Noël Coward Theatre. Tickets are expected to sell quickly for this hotly anticipated production. For full details and booking information, visit the official website at draculawestend.com.