One of the most eagerly-awaited West End shows so far this year has officially opened. We say eagerly as the last time we saw Cynthia Erivo on a London stage was back in 2013 when she played Celie in The Color Purple at Menier Chocolate Factory.
Written and directed by the multi-award winning Kip Williams (The Picture of Dorian Gray), this new adaptation of Bram Stoker’s 1890s novel features a little but talawa Cynthia Erivo take on this vampire classic.
Erivo’s entrance is subtle, lying flat on the stage floor in a simple black vest and pinstriped trousers. She then holds us captive for an hour and 50 minutes (it could have been shorter), no interval and over 20,000 words with her ethereal presence.
Set in the Victorian era and narrated by Erivo through a series of diary entries, Williams’ version of the frequently revisited gothic tale takes us on a fast moving journey with Erivo playing ALL 23 characters. There’s humour, too, with quite a few wry one-liners raising a smile throughout.
Some of the characters include of course, the fanged one, Count Dracula himself, complete with Nigerian intonation (Erivo is of Nigerian heritage), Jonathan Harker, who visits Dracula at the famous castle, Van Hesling, a vampire hunter, Mina Murray, Harker’s fiancée, Renfield, Dr John Steward, Quincey Morris and Authur Holmwood are the main stand outs. Erivo morphs effortlessly from Dracula to Jonathan to Van Hesling with such ease – it’s mesmerising watching her shift accents from scene to scene.
Sophia Khan’s wigs, hair, and makeup, alongside Nicole Ashwood’s wardrobe, contribute to the sheer credibility of Erivo’s ability to embody so many different roles. At all times she is well-dressed courtesy of Marg Howell’s costume design. One minute she has long white, wispy hair and a moustache, the next a two-piece suit or a blonde wig and a lacy dress, or as the Count, a red wig with a pixie cut, and red pencilled on eyebrows.
Keeping in theme with the brave new world of theatre, we have an adaptation which fuses film, of which Erivo is best known and stage. Similar to Jamie Lloyd, another director who loves a projection, having Erivo beamed on a large screen on stage and smaller ones throughout the auditorium added to the performance’s intensity. At one point, as much of the production juxtaposes pre-recorded content with live filming, I’m pretty sure there were four iterations of Erivo all at once. Which leads us to giving a huge shout out to video designer Craig Wilkinson and the three camera operators, Marcus Collick, Vicki Matranga and Benjamin Sheen, who seamlessly glide on and off the stage, blending in at times, more obvious when the play calls for it.
There are literally many moving parts in making this a successful staging, including the power of Nick Schlieper and Alex Walton’s lighting, and the cinematic setting works well in an age where we are trying so desperately to attract younger audiences and diversify those bums on seats.
For those who are wondering, yes, the Grammy, Emmy and Tony Award-winning Cynthia Erivo does bless our ears with her gravity-defying dulcet tones, but not until the show’s climax with a song by composer Clemence Williams (The Picture of Dorian Gray). Of course, it left us wanting more of her stunning vocals – sadly, this is not a musical.
This is the second iteration of Dracula that I’ve seen in the last three months, and they could not be more different (Dracapella, Park Theatre), proving that theatre is very much alive and creativity is at an all-time high, even after centuries since it was written, we are still coming up with innovative and breathtaking ways to tell this timeless horror.
A friend who treated herself to a ticket during previews as a birthday gift texted me to say that Erivo was otherworldly. I’m inclined to agree.
Playing for 16 weeks at the Noël Coward theatre, we are happily giving Cynthia Erivo all the flowers she deserves for the stamina to be able to pull this off in the first place. Erivo gives an astonishingly good performance, and alongside Williams’ direction, they are worthy of ALL the awards and standing ovations-essential viewing.
Related links
- Cynthia Erivo returns to the stage in the UK’s West End premiere of Sydney Theatre Company’s acclaimed Dracula
- First look – Cynthia Erivo in Dracula
- RADA announces the appointment of David Harewood as president and Cynthia Erivo as Vice President
- BBC Proms Cynthia Erivo – Legendary Voices – review
- Black British Theatre Awards 2021: Winners Announced
Need to know: Dracula West End with Cynthia Erivo plays at the Noël Coward theatre until 30 May 2026 | see listing
