Cynthia Erivo Will Lead One-Woman DRACULA in London's West End

Cynthia Erivo will lead a one-woman production of Dracula, set to premiere next year in London's West End, from the creatives and producers behind the recent Broadway production of The Picture of Dorian Gray. The production, adapted and directed by visionary theatre-maker Kip Williams, will premiere at London’s prestigious Noël Coward Theatre in February 2026.

This announcement comes after the recently announced production of Jesus Christ Superstar at the Hollywood Bowl, which has tapped Erivo in the role of Jesus, and is set to take the stage this summer.

In this radical interpretation, Erivo will embody all twenty-three characters in Stoker’s iconic tale — from the naïve solicitor Jonathan Harker and his fiancée Mina Murray to confidante Lucy Westenra, her suitors, and the formidable vampire hunter Van Helsing — as well as the infamous Count Dracula themself.

The production reunites Kip Williams with his award-winning creative team, including Olivier Award-winning designer Marg Horwell, lighting designer Nick Schlieper, composer Clemence Williams and joined by sound designer Jessica Dunn, video designer Craig Wilkinson and dramaturg Zahra Newman. Fusing live video, pre-recorded film, and virtuosic live performance, DRACULA continues Williams’ ground-breaking exploration of 'cine-theatre.'

Cynthia Erivo said, “Returning to the stage feels like a homecoming, one that I’ve been craving for a long time. 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. From the moment I was asked, I could not get the role out of my mind. Kip’s vision is thrilling, terrifying, and deeply resonant, offering a chance to sit with not only the darkness in the world, but also the light we fight to hold onto. It’s a rare gift for an actor to inhabit so many voices and perspectives in one piece, and I’m honoured to do it for West End audiences in this extraordinary production. The prospect of doing this show scares me and I know it will be a huge challenge. This show will ask everything of me — and I’m ready to give it.”

The Sydney Theatre Company production of Dracula will play the Noel Coward Theatre for a limited 16-week engagement from February 4-May 31, 2026.

About Cynthia Erivo

Most recently starring as Elphaba in the film adaptation of Wicked, Cynthia Erivo is a multi-talented artist whose work transcends boundaries in theater, television, and film. 

She has received several accolades, including a Daytime Emmy Award, a Grammy Award and a Tony Award, as well as nominations for two British Academy Film Awards, three Academy Awards and four Golden Globe Awards. She is one of only a few artists to have received nominations for the EGOT.

Erivo made her West End debut in the stage musical The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (2011). She later made her Broadway debut playing Celie, a woman suffering abuse in the Deep South, in the musical revival of The Color Purple from 2015 to 2017. Her work earned her the 2016 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical and the 2017 Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album. She expanded to films in 2018 with the crime films Widows and Bad Times at the El Royale. For her portrayals of Harriet Tubman in the biopic Harriet (2019) and Elphaba in the musical fantasy film Wicked (2024), Erivo received nominations for the Academy Award for Best Actress; she also wrote and performed the song "Stand Up" for Harriet, which gained her a nomination for Best Original Song.

On television, she played Holly Gibney in the HBO crime drama miniseries The Outsider (2020), and Aretha Franklin in National Geographic's anthology series Genius: Aretha (2021), the later of which earned her a nomination for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress. As a singer, she has released singles as well as her solo album Ch. 1 Vs. 1 (2021).