Cynthia Erivo is returning to the stage—and she’s not coming quietly.
The Tony, Emmy, and Oscar-nominated performer will lead a bold new one-woman adaptation of Dracula in London’s West End, taking on a staggering 23 roles in the gothic tale. Set to open February 4, 2026, at the Noël Coward Theatre, the limited 16-week engagement reimagines Bram Stoker’s classic with Erivo at the helm, breathing life into the Count himself along with an entire cast of characters—from Jonathan Harker to Mina Murray, Lucy Westenra, and Van Helsing.
The production comes from director Kip Williams and the Sydney Theatre Company, the same team behind the critically acclaimed stage adaptation of The Picture of Dorian Gray, currently wrapping its Broadway run with Sarah Snook. Dracula follows a similar “cine-theatre” approach—blending live performance with pre-recorded video, camera choreography, and seamless multi-character roleplay—all performed by a single actor onstage.
For Erivo, this marks a major theatrical return following her Tony-winning performance as Celie in The Color Purple. Though she’s been busy dazzling audiences on screen in projects like Wicked and producing her own films, this return to live performance offers a new kind of challenge—one that is as technical as it is emotional.
The West End version won’t be a carbon copy of the Sydney run. Instead, Williams and Erivo are building the show from the ground up together in London’s rehearsal room. That creative freedom is exactly what drew Erivo in—an opportunity to reinterpret Dracula’s many psychological layers through a new lens of fear, desire, power, and identity.
The original Dracula novel, published in 1897, has long been regarded as a dark mirror to Victorian society’s anxieties and obsessions. This adaptation leans into those themes while centering a singular performer to navigate the dizzying shifts between horror and heartbreak, repression and revelation.
And while Dracula isn’t a musical, audiences can expect one original song near the show’s conclusion, composed by Clemence Williams, whose work on Dorian Gray recently earned her a Tony nomination for sound design. Erivo—never one to let a mic pass her by—will lend her voice to the haunting finale.
The producers behind this stage spectacle are Michael Cassel and Adam Kenwright, who previously teamed up for Dorian Gray. Their reunion, fueled by Erivo’s interest during her global Wicked press tour, has been in the works for months. After watching archival footage of the Sydney version (which starred Zehra Newman) and connecting deeply with Williams’ vision, Erivo officially signed on.
The role will demand everything from technical precision with camera movement to lightning-fast character switches and emotional agility. It’s a physical, emotional, and creative feat—one tailor-made for a performer of Erivo’s caliber. And while this production is rooted in London, it’s hard not to wonder if Broadway might be next in line.
Until then, Erivo has a packed calendar, including hosting duties for the 78th Tony Awards in June, a role in Lionsgate’s upcoming action thriller Karoshi, and a turn as Jesus in Jesus Christ Superstar at the Hollywood Bowl.
But come February, she’ll be back in the shadows, stepping into the blood-soaked legacy of one of literature’s most iconic monsters—and doing it solo.
Tickets for Dracula are expected to be in high demand. After all, how often do you get to see Cynthia Erivo channel 23 characters, wield a stake, and maybe even belt a note or two—all in under two hours?