Cynthia Erivo to Star in One-Woman London Production of ‘Dracula’

Cynthia Erivo is headed back to the stage. The British actress will star in a one-woman production of Dracula on London’s West End, taking on all 23 roles in the play, according to Deadline.

Dracula, adapted and directed by Kip Williams, will play at the Noel Coward Theatre for a limited 16-week engagement from February 4-May 31, 2026. It marks Erivo’s return to the stage for the first time since her Tony Award-winning turn as Celie in The Color Purple.

The play comes from the Sydney Theatre Company, which previously mounted Dracula in Australia at the Roslyn Packer Theatre with actress Zehra Newman. The same producers were behind Sarah Snook’s highly-acclaimed Broadway and London one-woman effort, The Picture of Dorian Gray, which used onstage cameras to flesh out the narrative.

Producer Michael Cassel told Deadline, “I think what’s so exciting, I think for her, and for us, while we know what the story is, they get to go and create this role in the rehearsal room in London together, and that was very appealing to Cynthia to put her own interpretation on the role and explore that with Kip.”

Erivo will embody multiple characters in the production, including Count Dracula, Jonathan Harker, Mina Murray, Lucy Westenra, and Professor Van Hesling. She will also sing an original piece composed by Clemence Williams, although Dracula is not a musical. “It’s a world apart from what Cynthia’s been doing recently, and she can go and find that character and be challenged night in, night out as all good actors are in front of a live audience and I think that’s really thrilling,” Cassel noted.

Rehearsals for Dracula will start shortly after Wicked: For Good arrives in theaters on Nov. 21. Before that, Erivo will host the 78th annual Tony Awards at Radio City Music Hall on June 8 and take on the role of Jesus in a concert version of Jesus Christ Superstar at the Hollywood Bowl in early August.

Erivo will also appear in a live TV event for Wicked alongside co-star Ariana Grande. The special event will take place at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles ahead of the release of the sequel. It will be broadcast live on NBC and available to stream the next day on Peacock. It was announced this week by director Jon M. Chu.

“I am absolutely delighted to let you in on a centerpiece of our campaign for the second film, and it’s something that’s never been done in the 22-year history of Wicked,” Chu said. “This fall, our stars, the wonderful Cynthia Erivo and incandescent Ariana Grande, will be joined by their castmates and some wonderful surprise guests in a one time only event from the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles, they will perform live many of the songs from the first movie — and maybe a little bit from the second one as well, for a night of entertainment that we think will be, as they say in Oz, thrillifying.”