Dracula – Noel Coward Theatre – Saturday 11th April 2026

(Production Rated 4/5) (Cynthia Rated 7/5) How do I start with this one? Well, I guess it starts with my love of a green witch, Elphaba, who by being channelled by her, introduced me to the multi-talented Cynthia Erivo. Having seen her in the ‘Wicked’ films, read her book ‘Simply More’ – so well-written and inspiring in her warm, open and honest language on life-lessons from her own experiences – I felt curious to see her on stage. I’m not a huge ‘Dracula’ fan as such, though have inevitably seen a few versions one way or another. But I’m certainly fascinated by how a sole performer might convincingly play 23 characters and so tell a story in an exciting way. Some reviews didn’t seem to think this production – adapted from Bram Stoker’s book and directed by Kip Williams – had achieved that finding it dull and stilted. In fact, too close to the novel was a comment I spotted along the way. I haven’t read the book, but many would not find that a good critique as they’d love something faithful to the original! Mum!!😉 I confess I did enjoy, and found myself a little obsessed by the 1992 film ‘Bram Stoker’s Dracula’, directed by Francis Ford Coppola, with Gary Oldman in the title role. However, given personal circumstances which may well have meant I wouldn’t be able to get to see it anyway, and given what seemed to be about 50% poor reviews, I allowed my expectations to drop significantly, and let it go…

As fortune would have it, though, my operation was brought forward enabling me to go after all, in spite of the fact I had to be drained of 650ml of my own blood-tinged fluid the day before. Is that ironic, Alanis?! 😉 The Saturday morning, I felt nervous – my first trip properly out in weeks – and also so thrilled to be walking along St. Martin’s Lane! It simply felt amazing just to be doing normal things I enjoy – meeting up with a close friend and going to the theatre – any theatre, any show; good or bad. Just being in that moment of glorious living. That said, I was aware of slight anxiety that Cynthia would be indisposed and so not appear. (Looking at the programme and searching online afterwards, there didn’t seem to be an understudy or alternate – interesting in itself – I wonder what happens if she cannot perform). I really wanted to see and experience Cynthia up close and as personal as someone in multiple characters can be 😊 And right up as close as can be we were in front row stalls.

The production is very clever imho. Cynthia comes on stage and lies down on her back. On screen we then see her shake and tremble; twisting to and fro, as she splits into multiple selves who each head off stage to later return to play their parts. Some characters, and parts of others, are filmed in advance by Cynthia and the team. They then get displayed on screen alongside Cynthia in whatever part she is embodying live at that stage of the play. I guess the only difficulty with that technique, together with the way the book is written (journals, letters and reports in part), is that you can get a little lost with who is who, even though in the main Cynthia is dressed in specific costumes and wigs etc to distinguish them and plays each character distinctively in voice, manner, accent etc. There is a lot to learn – 1hr 50 mins, in fact, of pretty rapid dialogue as well as a multitude of business to do along the way. In interviews Cynthia has said she couldn’t pre-learn it all. In fact, the only way she found she could do so is by running it through with all her assistants on cameras or providing changes in costume and props. She is never really alone on stage, but even then, it’s quite amazing how many people join her at curtain call! She said they were immensely important in helping her know where she is in the play, and she was interacting with them, even though they said nothing. Cynthia wore her trademark long elegant nails – for this white – and apparently a variety of scents each for her representing the different characters. She has said she felt the most empathy for Mina -wife to Jonathan Harker, who opens the story with his visit to Dracula’s castle.

The whole production gripped me so entirely that I couldn’t have appreciated it more. I do think in part that was the head-space and state of emotion in which I was at the time. But, for me, Cynthia was so mesmerising and I was monumentally moved by her and the whole experience of life, death, undeath, love, passion, trauma in such a variety of characters encompassed by one person – oodles of symbolism in that I think and maybe the multiple personalities possible within us all to varying degrees faced with life’s dramas to encourage them emerge from us. Each of her performances was individual and sensational. She is so tiny and yet so powerful.

Another critique I read was that she only sings a very little. Well, this is not a musical, and her exquisite singing is used for a very specific purpose in this production. SPOILER ALERT: Do not read past this point if you don’t want to know… As we come to the end of the play, Cynthia is in the part of Dracula himself. Thus far we have only seen how Dracula’s already ‘turned’ vampires seduce their victims, not the Count himself. In character, though she does not tinge her voice with his accent, Cynthia sings “Come to me” – and it is so gorgeous and enticing, that, yes, she’d have me hook, line and sinker. I was shaking myself in floods of tears and clinging on to my friend in reaction to Cynthia Erivo – little powerhouse of humanity and talent with such an inspiring life force!

Dracula – Review by TheRestrictedReviewer © 2026

‘Peter and Alice’ - Noel Coward Theatre - Saturday 25th May 2013

(Rated 8/5 ) 

Yes I know! 8/5 doesn’t really make sense in our ‘normal’, adult world, then again in a world of fiction and fantasy – in a child’s world – anything and everything is possible – and this restricted reviewer can fly to the giddy heights and give this production the best score she has ever given! Not that I/she tends to restrict herself anyway – I’ve gone to 7/5 for my previous favourites: The National Theatre’s The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time and Tennant and Tate’s Benedict and Beatrice in Much Ado About Nothing, but this truly is even better! This is exceptional! The performances of Dame Judi Dench and Ben Whishaw in this are the most moving I have ever witnessed! For many years that ‘honour’ went to Chiwitel Ejiofor’s Othello, when his anguish at Desdemona’s death by his own hand due to the dastardly deeds of his trusted Iago (Ewan McGregor) ripped at my heart. I was crying with him – and the intimacy of the Donmar Warehouse added so much to his sharing with us the audience. With Judi and Ben my heart was going through every single emotion it can possibly feel – from the joy and excitement of a child on an adventure in a wondrous world of the imagination, via the ecstasy of falling in love, through the devastation at the loss of your own children, the pain of crushing disappointment and abuse to the empty loneliness of isolation. I could almost say it beat faster as I felt the warmth of my blood rushing the good emotions through it, then cold slow pulses before it was ripped to shreds.
Yet I realise I haven’t even told you what this play is about. Perhaps it is unexpected that it comes from the pen of John Logan – author of James Bond movie Skyfall. Action movie this isn’t. But then again Skyfall was also packed with psychology and the relationships between adults and the ‘children’ taken under their wings. Here we have the stories of Peter Llewelyn Davies (Ben Whishaw) and Alice Liddell Hargreaves (Judi Dench), who as children inspired Rev Charles Dodgson – better known by his pen-name Lewis Carroll (Nicholas Farrell) and James Barrie (Derek Riddell) to write Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Peter Pan respectively. The play begins with the catalyst for John Logan to write it – when the real life Alice and Peter meet each other – they were both adults and preparing to appear before the public at an anniversary celebration of Alice in Wonderland. John Logan wondered what they might have said to each other…
What was it like to be the inspirations for these two characters? What is it like to be an expectation of something that isn’t really you? A ‘poor’ adult reflection of a ‘richly exciting’ fictional child. The child/ren who never grow(s) up both in books and in the readers’ minds. What is it actually like to grow up and leave that child behind? To face the painful reality of adulthood. Or not – to live in isolation and escape in your head because the real world is too much to bear. What were the ‘real’ relationships between Alice and Lewis Carroll and Peter and James Barrie? John Logan explores all this – partly based on research from biographies – and Ben and Judi show us with the most extraordinarily natural and true performance skills. In fact so convincing were they, that even at curtain call, neither seemed able to escape the world and lives they had created for us, and I then imagine took their time in their dressing rooms to do so. (They did not appear at the stage door afterwards.) And nor did the audience giving them a standing ovation loaded with smiles and tears.
Ben/Peter opens the play for us – coming on stage and nervously waiting for Judi/Alice to arrive. Ben conveys Peter with every single element of his being; his vocal expression, his body language; the way he holds himself, walks, the bow of his head, anxious hand gestures to push back his hair and… his eyes! I’ve never seen more expressive eyes. Blinking is a Ben Whishaw trait for sure - something he cannot fail to lend his characters – but there is such poignancy in how his eyes dart around, how they well-up with emotion, how they shine and then fade. He is exquisite; slight and yet so powerful. As is Dame Judi, who at one point has a line about how people don’t expect someone famous to be so small, which she delivers perfectly as she stands in her small exceptionally well-known self. She gives us an frail elderly lady needing a walking stick to a skipping and dancing young girl. She is gorgeously sensitive – so deep and honest as she takes us to the core of painful emotions, and then ever so subtle yet effervescent as she escorts us to the dizzying heights of jolly good fun. Another time Alice cries for a full five minutes creating, as she describes, a well of tears – as did Judi completely authentically. I wanted to get up on stage and hug her. And yet actually didn’t need to as audience and performers were completely integrated in this experience together all as one so it felt as though we were carrying each other anyway.
In some productions the ‘stars’ outshine their supporting cast. Not in this case. This was a beautiful ensemble piece bringing out the best in everyone. Olly Alexander energetically gives us the delightfully boyish Peter Pan and Ruby Bentall is the prettily inquisitive Alice in Wonderland, wondering at everything she witnesses. Stefano Braschi ably takes on all remaining parts.
And production father – director – is Michael Grandage from whom – especially following his superb 10-year stint at the Donmar Warehouse – we have come to expect genius. He does not fall short.
This is a must-see – though that could be difficult as it’s nearing the end of its run – Saturday 1st June – and is sold-out! Queue for returns if you can!

Peter and Alice – Review by TheRestrictedReviewer © 2013