Cynthia Erivo's Dracula - Terrifying Pics!
Posted: 2/7/26 at 11:33am
Here are 20 more that are bound to send a chill.
https://playbill.com/article/cynthia-erivo-led-dracula-delays-previews-in-londons-west-end
Posted: 2/7/26 at 12:03pm
People who get to see this are incredibly lucky. Enjoy.
Posted: 2/7/26 at 4:02pm
Sutton Ross said: "People who get to see this are incredibly lucky. Enjoy."
It'll come to NYC. Don't worry.
Posted: 2/7/26 at 4:08pm
Seriously? That would be so amazing.
Posted: 2/7/26 at 4:09pm
Sutton Ross said: "Seriously? That would be so amazing."
As of now, it has the Music Box starting in mid-October.
Posted: 2/7/26 at 11:49pm
First preview has been getting pretty mixed / negative reviews.
Updated On: 2/7/26 at 11:49 PM
Posted: 2/8/26 at 12:51am
blaxx said: "First preview has been getting pretty mixed / negative reviews."
What’s next for the music box in October ? …
Posted: 2/8/26 at 4:41am
The Sydney production got fairly positive reviews. Of the handful of comments so far on theatreboard, most focus on Erivo struggling with recalling lines and not always being in sync with the tech/video. Not totally unexpected for a production like this in its first previews.
Posted: 2/9/26 at 5:05am
I'm seeing this tomorrow. Will report back if she improved.
Posted: 2/9/26 at 6:42pm
Well.. this was just awful.
As someone who didn't see Kip Williams' The Picture of Dorian Gray but had heard very mixed opinions on it, I went into this cautious but optimistic. I regret to report that Williams' Dracula with Cynthia Erivo falls into every criticism levied at Dorian Gray, but brings another layer of problems all its own.
To start with -- this show concept is fundamentally broken. While an actor memorizing 20,000 words and performing all these characters is certainly an impressive technical feat, one to match the very impressive camera work, it's hardly theater. She spends much of the show with her back to the audience acting against videos of her acting. It feels like a movie.. but at megastar theater ticket prices. I'm not so against screens as some people are -- I enjoyed the use of them in Jamie Lloyd's Sunset Boulevard and Evita more than many on this board -- but when your back is to the audience for so much of the show for no reason other than to show up on a screen, I am indeed against it, especially when the ticket prices are so high so that we can see a star live onstage.
The writing is fine in a vacuum, but remove yourself from the fact that it's a one woman show with all the tech stuff and you're left with what's basically an action movie onstage without any action. It whirs from one "event" to the next with almost no time for character or introspection. It's just telling a story, one that could've easily been told through a movie or even an audio book with the same effect. There is nothing interesting or unique about the show. It has no message, no intrigue, no theme; just narration to deliver and a well-worn story to tell.
Cynthia was a mess. She didn't know her lines at all -- 6 minutes into the show, she forgot them, stared at the ground for 10 seconds, and then called a hold and restarted the show from the top after a 10 minute pause. There are also teleprompters in various places around the stage, which would sometimes appear on screen and then hastily turned off like they were something to hide, and she had an in-ear; the purpose of the in-ear is unclear but one can imagine it was to feed her lines. While I understand that this was a preview, they're charging upwards of $300 for these tickets; it's unacceptable to not know your lines to this extent. She was constantly umming and ahhing her way through the script, retreading lines or restarting phrases in order to get on track, and overall seemed to just be completely lost in the text.
From a performance perspective, she was fine. I've never thought her to be a fantastically skilled actress, but she does a decent job here at differentiating the characters. She's rushing through her lines to try to match the prerecorded videos, and it leads to some really awkward timing moments where she finishes a line and sits still for 5 seconds until the video responds, but that's something that will likely be ironed out during the run. Past that, it's fine. Nothing to write home about, but nothing egregiously bad either.
Frankly, I'm incredibly disappointed. This is not what we should accept from theater artists, and if Dorian Gray was anything like it, it's shameful that it was as raved over as it was. If Kip Williams wants to keep doing celebrity plays, he needs to find a way past this gimmick and celebrities need to stop doing them if they're going to be this bad.
Updated On: 2/9/26 at 06:42 PM
Posted: 2/9/26 at 6:50pm
Sadly not surprised to hear it. I went to see Dorian because of the London raves, but it was exhausting. By the opium den scene I was like "Let's wrap this up." My mom's review was simply "What the f-ck was that?" If Dracula transfers, that'll be an easy skip for me.
Posted: 2/9/26 at 8:11pm
When did they begin rehearsals? I thought they started the first week in January. If they hadn’t cancelled the first 3 previews, that would have basically put them at a total of 4 weeks of rehearsal and tech before first preview. Considering it’s such a tech heavy show, I wonder how much rehearsal time she had before tech began?
Posted: 2/9/26 at 8:16pm
Can you imagine if they hadn’t cancelled those previews and if she hadn’t had those extra days what state her lines would be in!
Cassel the star-lover had this coming when he picked her.
Posted: 2/9/26 at 9:07pm
Ensemble17591322022 said: "Can you imagine if they hadn’t cancelled those previews and if she hadn’t had those extra days what state her lines would be in!
Cassel the star-lover had this coming when he picked her."
Acting like cancelled previews are some kind of personal failing is exactly the kind of lazy sniping people default to here. A first preview of a tech‑heavy show is never a finished product, and pretending otherwise is just an excuse to take a dig at her.
Posted: 2/9/26 at 9:52pm
For thoughtful and measured reactions and criticism I suggest checking the thread on the UK board. Here is a link to where actual performance comments start: https://theatreboard.co.uk/post/637021/thread
Posted: 2/10/26 at 2:18am
pmensky said: "Ensemble17591322022 said: "Can you imagine if they hadn’t cancelled those previews and if she hadn’t had those extra days what state her lines would be in!
Cassel the star-lover had this coming when he picked her."
Acting like cancelled previews are some kind of personal failing is exactly the kind of lazy sniping people default to here. A first preview of a tech‑heavy show is never a finished product, and pretending otherwise is just an excuse to take a dig at her."
I don’t think we can put the blame on Cynthia necessarily - could be bad planning/producing, or unexpected technical challenges etc interrupting things. However, the reports from the first preview (and second) of this show go far beyond what I think is acceptable first preview flubs/teething especially when they charge these prices. A first preview is still a performance not a rehearsal.
Posted: 2/10/26 at 3:21am
FightTheDragons said: "Well.. this was just awful.
As someone who didn't see Kip Williams'The Picture of Dorian Graybut had heard very mixed opinions on it, I went into this cautious but optimistic. I regret to report that Williams'Draculawith Cynthia Erivo falls into every criticism levied atDorian Gray, but brings another layer of problems all its own.
To start with -- this show concept is fundamentally broken. While an actor memorizing 20,000 words and performing all these characters is certainly an impressive technical feat, one to match the very impressive camera work, it's hardly theater. She spends much of the show with her back to the audience acting against videos of her acting. It feels like a movie.. but at megastar theater ticket prices. I'm not so against screens as some people are -- I enjoyed the use of them in Jamie Lloyd'sSunset BoulevardandEvitamore than many on this board -- but when your back is to the audience for so much of the show for no reason other than to show up on a screen, I am indeed against it, especially when the ticket prices are so high so that we can see a star live onstage.
The writing is fine in a vacuum, but remove yourself from the fact that it's a one woman show with all the tech stuff and you're left with what's basically an action movie onstage without any action. It whirs from one "event" to the next with almost no time for character or introspection. It's just telling a story, one that could've easily been told through a movie or even an audio book with the same effect. There is nothing interesting or unique about the show. It has no message, no intrigue, no theme; just narration to deliver and a well-worn story to tell.
Cynthia was a mess. She didn't know her lines atall-- 6 minutes into the show, she forgot them, stared at the ground for 10 seconds, and then called a hold and restarted the show from the top after a 10 minute pause. There are also teleprompters in various places around the stage, which would sometimes appear on screen and then hastily turned off like they were something to hide, and she had an in-ear; the purpose of the in-ear is unclear but one can imagine it was to feed her lines. While I understand that this was a preview, they're charging upwards of $300 for these tickets; it's unacceptable to not know your lines to this extent. She was constantly umming and ahhing her way through the script, retreading lines or restarting phrases in order to get on track, and overall seemed to just be completely lost in the text.
From a performance perspective, she was fine. I've never thought her to be a fantastically skilled actress, but she does a decent job here at differentiating the characters. She's rushing through her lines to try to match the prerecorded videos, and it leads to some really awkward timing moments where she finishes a line and sits still for 5 seconds until the video responds, but that's something that will likely be ironed out during the run. Past that, it's fine. Nothing to write home about, but nothing egregiously bad either.
Frankly, I'm incredibly disappointed. This is not what we should accept from theater artists, and ifDorian Graywas anything like it, it's shameful that it was as raved over as it was. If Kip Williams wants to keep doing celebrity plays, he needs to find a way past this gimmick and celebrities need to stop doing them if they're going to be this bad."
just FYI, these did not start in Sydney as "celebrity" plays at STC. Erin Jean Norvill who originated the role in Dorian Gray and Zahra Newman who originated in Dracula weren't close to be big name celebrities when Kip Williams originally did these productions in Sydney.
It's fine to be critical of elements if the production or of an unprepared actor but to claim Kip started doing these shows as "Celebrity Plays" is just not true.
Updated On: 2/10/26 at 03:21 AM
Posted: 2/10/26 at 3:35am
binau said: "pmensky said: "Ensemble17591322022 said: "Can you imagine if they hadn’t cancelled those previews and if she hadn’t had those extra days what state her lines would be in!
Cassel the star-lover had this coming when he picked her."
Acting like cancelled previews are some kind of personal failing is exactly the kind of lazy sniping people default to here. A first preview of a tech‑heavy show is never a finished product, and pretending otherwise is just an excuse to take a dig at her."
I don’t think we can put the blame on Cynthia necessarily - could be bad planning/producing, or unexpected technical challenges etc interrupting things. However, the reports from the first preview (and second) of this showgo far beyond what I think is acceptable first preview flubs/teethingespecially when they charge these prices. A first preview is still a performance not a rehearsal.
A first preview is a performance, but it is not a polished one. That is the purpose of the preview period, especially in a tech heavy show where early previews are always unstable. Treating a first preview as if it should meet your imagined standard of “acceptable” just makes it clear that not only do you not understand the process. And before you start telling us how you do understand the process, save it. You’ve already clearly explained you don’t.
Posted: 2/10/26 at 3:48am
Gurl I’ve been going to first previews for 20 years, they’re my favourite and the most common type of performance I attend. And I’ve never witnessed what is being described on the UK theatre board nor would I be happy to (I recognise this show is quite unique).
Can you give some other examples of first previews in NYC or London that sound as rough as this and everyone found it acceptable? I’ve seen shows here get killed after a first preview for much less.
Updated On: 2/10/26 at 03:48 AM
Posted: 2/10/26 at 3:59am
binau said: "Gurl I’ve been going to first previews for 20 years, they’re my favourite and the most common type of performance I attend. And I’ve never witnessed what is being described on the UK theatre board nor would I be happy to (I recognise this show is quite unique).
Can you give some other examples of first previews in NYC or London that sound as rough as this and everyone found it acceptable? I’ve seen shows here get killed after a first preview for much less."
“Everyone found it unacceptable?” Now you’re speaking for everyone who saw the show? I’m sure people were disappointed by the line and technical issues, but previews can be rough. I’ve seen shows stopping completely, shows cancelled for technical issues and actors go up on their lines, all in previous. Not first previous, but that’s because I have the good sense to wait until the show has settled a bit before going. Maybe you should consider waiting, too.
Posted: 2/10/26 at 4:25am
That wasn’t quite what I said or meant, what I’m saying is that you are suggesting this kind of preview experience is normal and to be expected. So I’m asking can you name some shows that had these kind of issues AND that the word of mouth found it ok?
Have you looked at the poll and comments on theatreboard? It’s hard to speak for everyone but it’s clear this has had a pretty rough start.
I accept that people shouldn’t be trashing previews because they are previews, but I think it’s a worthwhile discussion about what is acceptable vs too far. Especially at these prices (and it’s also a discussion that often comes up during previews over the years).
It also almost sounds like from your post you don’t even go to first previews? It seems odd for someone to be schooling me on what is normal vs not normal on a first preview for someone that doesn’t tend to go to them? I almost always do haha. I’ve been to a number of first previews in NYC, London and elsewhere. It’s often a magical experience that outweighs any problems.
Yes there can be problems, flubs, technical issues. But in this kind of high stakes professional environment the typical experience is that this is still only occasionally throughout. From the description on theatreboard, it really just sounded like they weren’t quite ready yet.
Posted: 2/10/26 at 4:47am
Producers and creatives lost the right to put up basically paid rehearsals when they started charging full, or as good as full, price. The odd flubbed line, set/tech not working etc is fine, these things happen. But to be so woefully unprepared across the board isnt acceptable at the prices they charge
The tech elements absolutely arent Cynthias fault, but not knowing lines is.
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