Dracula ballet will play 65 Australian shows in 2026
Dracula ballet will return to Australia for 65 performances in 2026, including 35 at Her Majesty’s Theatre in Melbourne from 10th September to 25th October.
BIG Live’s Dracula: Ballet at its Darkest will also play two Sydney runs: eight performances at the State Theatre from 22nd September to 27th September, followed by 22 added performances at the Capitol Theatre from 7th November to 29th November.
The Sydney season was expanded from an originally announced eight performances to 30 in total. Foundation Theatres chief executive Graeme Kearns said the added Capitol Theatre dates followed the cancellation of Beetlejuice: The Musical’s Sydney season and would support work for artists, technicians, venue teams and the wider live-performance economy.
Sydney season expands to 30
“The industry relies on producers with the confidence to invest, adapt and continue bringing ambitious works to our stages,” Kearns said. He said productions of that scale sustained artists, musicians, technicians and theatre workers.
In Melbourne, the season marks BIG Live’s return to Her Majesty’s Theatre during the venue’s 140th anniversary year. Chief operating officer Quan Tu said the theatre was “proud to present an Australian-created production” that had performed across the United Kingdom, the United States, Asia and Australasia.
According to BIG Live, the Brisbane-founded company operates without government funding and is on track to sell more than 400,000 tickets across its productions in 2026. The company said more than 200,000 people are expected to see Dracula during its 2026 international tour alone.
The production is choreographed by co-founder Joel Burke and features performers with experience at companies including The Australian Ballet, English National Ballet, Mariinsky Theatre, Stuttgart Ballet and Queensland Ballet. Its 2026 international tour has included the London Palladium, Sadler’s Wells, Edinburgh Festival Theatre, San Francisco’s Orpheum Theatre and Singapore’s Esplanade Theatre, with Hong Kong and Bangkok dates scheduled for January 2027.
