Ballet at its Darkest: BIG Live’s Dracula Expands to 30 Sydney Performances

Following sold-out seasons in London’s West End and the United States, and a record-breaking tour across Australia and New Zealand in 2025, BIG Live’s critically acclaimed Dracula: Ballet at its Darkest will return to Sydney for 30 performances across two of the city’s landmark theatres.

The Australian-born production will first play eight performances at the State Theatre from 22 to 27 September 2026, before returning, due to overwhelming demand, for 22 additional performances at the Capitol Theatre from 7 to 29 November 2026.

The Capitol Theatre extension adds 22 performances to the originally announced eight-show State Theatre engagement, taking Dracula’s Sydney season to 30 performances in total. It will also return a major production to dates made available after the cancellation of Beetlejuice: The Musical’s Sydney season, supporting work for artists, technicians, venue teams and the wider live-performance economy.

The additional Sydney performances have been welcomed by Foundation Theatres, with Chief Executive Graeme Kearns placing the expansion in the context of the wider pressures facing the Australian live performance sector.

The industry relies on producers with the confidence to invest, adapt and continue bringing ambitious works to our stages. It is particularly significant to see an Australian founded company developing work here, building an international audience for it and then bringing that success home. Productions of this scale sustain artists, musicians, technicians and theatre workers, while giving audiences compelling reasons to experience great live performances. We are delighted to welcome BIG Live back to the Capitol Theatre with Dracula

Graeme Kearns Chief Executive, Foundation Theatres

For BIG Live, the 30-performance Sydney season is part of a wider story of Australian investment and international growth. Founded in Brisbane and operating without government funding, the independent company is on track to sell more than 400,000 tickets across its productions in 2026, with more than 200,000 people expected to see Dracula during its 2026 international tour alone.

There’s no question the touring landscape is challenging right now, but there is also real cause for confidence. The response to Dracula – both across Australia and on major international stages – shows that when work genuinely resonates with people, the demand is there. We are proud to support Australian talent and to prove that Australian-led productions can hold their own anywhere in the world. As an independent company, we have built BIG Live around audience demand, long-term employment and the confidence to move quickly when opportunities arise.

Khalid Tarabay Executive Director and Co-founder, BIG Live

For Artistic Director and Co-founder Joel Burke, the Sydney season is also a creative homecoming for a production developed in Brisbane and now established on major international stages:

Dracula was created in Brisbane with the belief that ballet can deliver the same emotional intensity, scale and excitement as any major theatrical production. We wanted to create something cinematic, immediate and unapologetically theatrical – an experience that could connect with devoted ballet audiences while also bringing people into the theatre who may never previously have considered seeing a ballet. To see an Australian-created production welcomed by audiences in London, the United States and Asia, and now returning for these major seasons at home, is enormously rewarding.

Joel Burke Artistic Director, Choreographer and Co-founder, BIG Live

BALLET AT ITS DARKEST

Choreographed by BIG Live Artistic Director and Co-founder Joel Burke, Dracula: Ballet at its Darkest is a bold, cinematic reimagining of Bram Stoker’s gothic classic – a visceral exploration of forbidden love, grief, obsession, immortality and sacrifice.

 

 

The production features a powerhouse cast of artists with experience at the Mariinsky Theatre, English National Ballet, Stuttgart Ballet, The Australian Ballet, Queensland Ballet and other leading companies. BIG Live principals Ervin Zagidullin and Abbey Hansen perform as Dracula and Mina Harker, with internationally renowned guest artist Adamzhan Bakhtiyar appearing at selected performances.

Set within a world of gothic grandeur created by award-winning CTS Design, Dracula is driven by a powerful score led by Emmy Award-winning composer Jason Fernandez and featuring masterpieces by Bach, Rachmaninov, Mozart, Liszt, Mussorgsky, Mendelssohn, Saint-Saens and Debussy.

Dracula’s 2026 international tour has included the London Palladium, Sadler’s Wells, Edinburgh Festival Theatre, San Francisco’s Orpheum Theatre and Singapore’s Esplanade Theatre, before returning to Australia. Further international performances are scheduled for Hong Kong and Bangkok in January 2027.

 

 

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Season Details

Venue: Sydney| State Theatre
Date: 22 – 27 Sept 2026

Venue:  Sydney |Capitol Theatre
Date: 07 – 29 Nov 2026

For more information click HERE