This opera bites!

Cape Town City Ballet will present David Nixon’s full-length adaptation of Bram Stoker’s Dracula at Artscape from 13–29 March 2026, promising a big Gothic night out, with no shortage of high drama, dark intrigue and impressive choreography performed by Cape Town’s leading dance company.

Nixon originally created Dracula in 1999 for BalletMet, and the work has since become one of his most celebrated narrative ballets. For Cape Town, Nixon will direct a new production created specifically for Cape Town City Ballet, and he’s also behind the set, stage and costume design, so almost every element of what you see on stage is thanks to his unique creative lens. He’s joined by a strong creative team, including lighting designer Faheem Bardien. 

The ballet is set to a score featuring music by Alfred Schnittke, Arvo Pärt, Sergei Rachmaninoff and Michael Daugherty, with orchestration that’s described as both modern and intensely Gothic.

But if you find yourself asking “Count Who?”, here’s a quick refresher: first published in 1897, Stoker’s novel introduced the notional villain of Count Dracula, which becamse the start of a century of vampire spin-offs. The story (and the ballet) follows Jonathan Harker, a young solicitor who is sent to Transylvania to assist Count Dracula with real estate dealings in England. From there, the story spirals into horror and the supernatural as Dracula brings all the gory horror and a dramatic battle between good and evil.

Nixon, who stepped in as interim Artistic Director of Cape Town City Ballet in 2023, said: “It’s great to be back with CTCB for this season of Dracula; I am so grateful to Tracy Li and Tasneem Allie for inviting me back to Cape Town to re-stage this favourite production of mine. My time in Cape Town was short, but I fell in love with the company and am excited to be once again working with the dancers.”

“We’re thrilled to bring David’s Dracula to Cape Town, a ballet that allows our dancers to explore both raw physicality and intense storytelling,” says Cape Town City Ballet’s Artistic Manager, Tracy Li.

Tickets cost from R180 to R450 through Webtickets.

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