Learn more about Cynthia Erivo's career ahead of 'Dracula'

The London-born superstar returns to the West End in 2026 to star in a scintillating solo adaptation of Dracula.

It isn’t often that a West End musical theatre performer becomes a movie star, yet that’s what’s happened to Cynthia Erivo. Erivo stars as Elphaba in Wicked: For Good, to be released this autumn, and in early 2026 returns to the West End, where she launched her career, to star in a one-actor adaptation of the gothic classic Dracula.

Erivo was born in Stockwell, south London in 1987 to Nigerian immigrant parents. She began a music psychology degree at the University of East London but fortuitously transferred after a year to study acting at RADA, from which she graduated in 2010.

Erivo quickly made an impression in the West End with her outstanding voice and powerful stage presence. Broadway beckoned with a Tony-winning turn in The Color Purple and Hollywood took note.

In 2018, Erivo made her big screen debut in the heist thriller Widows alongside Viola Davis, Michelle Rodriguez, and Elizabeth Debicki, directed by Steve McQueen. This was followed by another thriller, Bad Times at the El Royale, in which she played a singer opposite Jeff Bridges, Jon Hamm, and Chris Hemsworth. That year, she was nominated for the BAFTA Rising Star Award.

In 2019, Erivo played the title role in Harriet, a biopic about Harriet Tubman, an enslaved woman who fled to freedom and helped dozens of other people to escape slavery. Erivo was nominated for a Best Actress Oscar for her powerful performance.

There was much rejoicifying when Erivo was cast in the role of green witch Elphaba, opposite Ariana Grande’s Glinda, in Jon M Chu’s long-awaited two-part screen adaptation of Stephen Schwartz’s beloved musical Wicked. Erivo earned a second Oscar nomination for her performance in the first instalment, making her only the second Black actress (following Viola Davis) to be nominated for the Best Actress Oscar on more than one occasion. Other film credits include the refugee-themed Drift (which Erivo also produced) and Luther: The Fallen Sun, in which Idris Elba reprised his role as the titular detective.

Erivo recently delivered a star turn as host of the 2025 Tony Awards. Read our guide to Erivo’s stage work prior to her West End return in Dracula in 2026.

Check back for Dracula tickets on LondonTheatre.co.uk.

Early work (2010-11)

After graduating from RADA, Erivo appeared in Simon Stephens’s play-with-music Marine Parade at the Brighton Fringe and in the “song play” I Was Looking at the Ceiling and Then I Saw the Sky by John Adams and June Jordan at Theatre Royal Stratford East. Erivo then made her West End debut in Emma Rice’s production of the whimsical French cinematic classic The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, playing the supporting role of the unassuming Madeleine, carer to the hero’s aunt. The cast also included Carly Bawden, Joanna Riding, and Meow Meow.

Sister Act (2011-12)

While still a newcomer, Erivo played her first major lead role – that of Deloris van Cartier in the UK touring production of Sister Act. The divine gospel and disco-flavoured score was the perfect vehicle for Erivo’s killer vocals.

The Color Purple (2013 and 2015-17)

Following her appearance in new musical Lift at the Soho Theatre, Erivo played Celie in the UK premiere of The Color Purple at the Menier Chocolate Factory, which became one of her signature roles. The role of Celie, who begins the story as an abused child and emerges as an empowered woman, is enormously demanding in its vocal and emotional requirements and showcased the full gamut of Erivo’s acting skills.

Two years later, Erivo reprised the role of Celie on Broadway, opposite Jennifer Hudson as Shug Avery. New York Theatre Guide’s reviewer raved about Erivo’s performance: “What is remarkable about this production is Cynthia Erivo. Period. Erivo has taken this entire production upon her very capable shoulders, and, like Atlas, she holds it high with grace and perfect balance.” Erivo was rewarded with a Tony Award for this breakout performance. Erivo also received an Emmy for Outstanding Musical Performance in a Daytime Program and the cast album also won the Grammy for Best Musical Theater album.

I Can’t Sing! The X Factor Musical and Dessa Rose (2014)

Following the emotional intensity of The Color Purple at the intimate Menier Chocolate Factory, Erivo took to the colossal London Palladium in the light-hearted musical comedy I Can’t Sing! The X Factor Musical, written by Harry Hill and Steve Brown. Erivo played Chenice, the main contestant. The cast also included Nigel Harman and Simon Lipkin. The show, unfortunately, only lasted six weeks after opening. LondonTheatre.co.uk’s reviewer commented that “Cynthia Erivo, recently splendid in the Menier's The Color Purple, has fewer colours to bring to contestant Chenice, but her stunner of a voice is once again the star of the show.”

Shortly afterwards, Erivo starred in the title role in Dessa Rose by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty. Told in the flashbacks, the show conveys the story of a Black woman and a white woman (played by Cassidy Janson) who develop a friendship in the American South in the 1840s. LondonTheatre.co.uk’s reviewer noted: “Critics have run out of superlatives to level at the ever-brilliant Cynthia Erivo, who judges this role perfectly and allows it to be her most interesting character to date. She is, as so many have said before me and will no doubt continue to do so after, a remarkable performer with the brightest future ahead of her.”

Henry IV and A Midsummer Night’s Dream (2014-15)

Erivo made her professional Shakespeare debut in Phyllida Lloyd’s all-female, prison-set production of Henry IV at the Donmar Warehouse, playing the supporting roles of Poins and the Earl of Douglas. Harriet Walter portrayed the titular monarch. And, prior to her Broadway debut in The Color Purple, Erivo appeared at the Liverpool Everyman as the mischievous sprite Puck in A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Concert work and producing (2016 – ongoing)

Much of Erivo’s theatre work since taking Hollywood by storm has been in concerts. She played Cathy in The Last Five Years opposite Joshua Henry’s Jamie at a one-off charity benefit and was the scene-stealing maid Petra in a concert production of A Little Night Music at Lincoln Center. She also made a one-night cameo playing The Producer in musical comedy Gutenberg! The Musical!

In 2022, Erivo starred in the BBC Proms' Cynthia Erivo: Legendary Voices of the Proms, celebrating female vocalists of the 1950s and 1960s. This August, Erivo is due to play the title role in Jesus Christ Superstar at the Hollywood Bowl, opposite Adam Lambert as Judas (she previously played Mary Magdalene on an all-female recording of the show).

Erivo was also a producer of James Ijames’s play Fat Ham, a modern, gay, Black adaptation of Hamlet, which received the 2022 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and was nominated for five Tonys.

Dracula (2026)

In early 2026, Erivo returns to the West End to star in a bona fide star vehicle: a one-actor production of Dracula adapted by Sydney Theatre Company’s Kip Williams, best known for the award-winning The Picture of Dorian Gray. Bram Stoker’s classic of gothic horror offers the opportunity to embody a host of colourful and terrifying characters. Sarah Snook won an Olivier and a Tony for her performance in The Picture of Dorian Gray – could Erivo equal this feat? In any case, she's sure to give an audacious performance.

Erivo said: "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.”

Check back for Dracula tickets on LondonTheatre.co.uk.

Photo credit: Cynthia Erivo. (Courtesy of production)