Cynthia Erivo’s show Dracula has been plunged into more chaos as it’s been reported that a matinee show has been cancelled with just 24 hours’ notice
The actress has been starring in an ambitious adaptation of the Bram Stoker novel, where she plays all 23 parts.
Sources are now claiming that Wednesday’s matinee show has been scrapped, with all tickets taken off sale.
An insider claimed that the show has become an ‘absolute farce,’ with some theatregoers venting their fury online at the cancellation.
Erivo’s West End show has divided theatre critics, who have praised her ‘incredible feat of endurance’ while insisting the play ‘lacks bite’.
The show launched at Noël Coward Theatre in February, and first impressions left many viewers ‘disappointed’ and some alleged that the star was being ‘fed her lines.’
Cynthia Erivo’s show Dracula has been plunged into yet more chaos as it’s been reported that an upcoming matinee show has been cancelled with just hours notice
A source told The Sun: ‘Last week there were concerns about this show going ahead and now it has been axed.
‘It’s disgusting because people have spent money on tickets, not counting travel and probably hotels and now it’s been scrapped.
‘Ticket holders have been told they can exchange their ticket for another day but that doesn’t feel like it’s good enough. People could still lose money.’
Daily Mail has contacted representatives for Cynthia Erivo and the Noel Coward Theatre for comment.
Fans have also shared their upset at the cancellation, writing: ‘This is the second time my show has been cancelled, and it’s honestly unacceptable.
‘At this point, I’m not even going to try and rebook. I’m pretty disgusted with how this has been handled, and I don’t want to keep paying for a production that clearly isn’t reliable.
‘Shocking. What a mess this production has been. Contempt for audiences.’
Fans had previously shared their upset that two Saturday performances were cancelled, with Cynthia then spotted running the London marathon the following day.
It was claimed at the time that fans were only told of the cancellation, three hours before the matinee was due to start.
Comments on fan forums included: ‘Cancels two shows one day, runs a marathon the next isn’t exactly a great way to endear a performer to their paying public;’
‘Cynthia doing the marathon would’ve been planned in advance, so yesterday’s shows should never have been put on sale;’
The actress has been starring in an ambitious adaptation of the Bram Stoker novel, where she plays all 23 parts
‘Looks like she’s spent more time preparing for the marathon than she did preparing for Dracula and getting her lines under her belt.’
The Daily Mail has contacted representatives for further comment.
It comes just days after Cynthia’s show was brought to a dramatic halt after an audience member was seen filming the production on their mobile phone.
The Wicked star curtailed Monday evening’s performance for close to ten minutes after spotting someone filming from their place in the audience, a direct breach of standard theatre etiquette.
Footage circulating online captures bemused audience members – many of them unaware of the issue – watching in stunned silence as the curtain drops mid-act.
As nervous laughter ripples across the room, a production assistant can be heard urging ticket-holders to ‘remain seated’ with the assurance that the production will ‘resume shortly’.
Captioning a brief clip of the incident, one theatre-goer wrote: ‘Not Cynthia Erivo clocking someone filming in the audience during Dracula and stopping the whole show.’
According to WhatsOnStage, another told how she ‘she straight up called the guy out! Put her hand up – said ‘excuse me, are you filming right now?!’ And the person said ‘sorry’.’
Erivo’s West End show has divided critics, and while most agreed on Cynthia’s ‘outstanding and hat-tip worthy’ performance, what didn’t receive such glowing reviews was the production itself.
Theatre critics said the play was ‘meandering and excessively long’, even dubbing it a ‘bloodless, soul-sapping affair’.
Sharing his mixed take on the show, the Daily Mail’s Patrick Marmion gave it just three stars as he criticised the play itself but applauded Cynthia.
He wrote: ‘Over a very long and testing two hours and five minutes – unrelieved by the mercy of an interval – she gives an astonishing performance, playing a total of 23 characters from Bram Stoker’s 19th–century Gothic horror novel.’
‘The complexities of Stoker’s plot start to scupper the complexities of Williams’s staging,’ he added.
‘But I still find myself tipping my pointy hat to Erivo.’
The actress plays a total of 23 characters throughout the show, but despite the astonishing feat disgruntled theatre-goers accused her of reading lines from a teleprompter.
‘I saw it last night and was SO disappointed,’ wrote one on Reddit. ‘Interesting point about the last 30 minutes – I spent that time just wondering when the show was finally going to be over.
‘I’m normally such a fan of theatre, but I left frustrated at spending £70 on a ticket, honestly.’
Another fan replied to the comment, adding: ‘Same I tried so hard to get into it and I just couldn’t.’
Another pointed out: ‘I wish I hadn’t bought an early on ticket for this.
On my night there were technical issues and staging problems but worst of all Cynthia was struggling with remembering her lines and place in the script (despite visible auto cues on either side of her).
‘In my opinion, it was just a retread of the Dorian Gray experience with a weaker story line.
‘I’m sure the issues will be ironed out in a couple of weeks and it will be fabulous and I totally accept that if you go for a ticket at the start of a run you have to be prepared for mishaps but honestly it was disappointing.’
