We’ve seen Dracula on the big screen, the small screen, in comics, video games and pretty much every other medium imaginable. Now the world’s most famous vampire is sinking his fangs into your headphones, and Ella Purnell is coming after him.
The FALLOUT star takes on Mina Murray in Audible’s new full-cast adaptation of Bram Stoker’s Dracula, available now exclusively on Audible. The immersive audio production puts an all-star cast behind the microphones, with Jonathan Bailey (Wicked) stepping into the role of Dracula opposite Purnell’s Mina.
This version gives Mina a little more bite than the traditional damsel-in-distress treatment. Rather than simply becoming another victim of the vampire stalking her loved ones, Mina is actively hunting Dracula herself, turning their relationship into a psychological game of cat and mouse.
“Playing Mina in this adaptation has been incredibly exciting because she’s not simply a victim in this story — she’s actively hunting Dracula herself,” Purnell said. “Their relationship becomes this intense game of cat and mouse, and Mina is absolutely determined to outsmart him and take him down.”
Purnell also pointed to the intimacy of audio as one of the things that drew her to the production, particularly as Mina becomes central to the battle of wills between herself and the vampire.
Bailey takes the other side of that fight as Dracula, a role that requires him to create an entire character and atmosphere using his voice alone.
“With a character like Dracula, every inflection matters,” Bailey said. “You’re building an entire world through your voice, discovering the darkest corners of who he is.”
The rest of the cast is stacked with familiar faces. Aimee Lou Wood (The White Lotus) plays Lucy, Louis Partridge (Enola Holmes) is Jonathan, David Jonsson (Industry) plays Dr. Seward, Lesley Manville (Phantom Thread) is Mrs. Westenra, Johnny Flynn (Ripley) takes on Renfield, Francis Lovehall (A Thousand Blows) plays Arthur and Maggie Gyllenhaal (The Dark Knight) steps into the role of Professor Van Helsing.
The story follows Mina after her fiancé disappears in Transylvania. As she pieces together letters, diary entries and other fragments of evidence, she begins tracking the predator responsible. When Lucy falls under Dracula’s influence, Professor Van Helsing joins the fight, but Mina’s ability to connect the clues could ultimately make her the key to stopping the ancient vampire.
Behind the production is Mary Lambert, the director of the cult horror classic PET SEMATARY, making her audiobook directing debut. Robyn Ahern adapted the story, while composer Ilan Eshkeri, who previously worked on Audible’s 1984 and House of Guinness, provides an original score alongside an immersive soundscape designed to make the listener feel like they’re trapped inside the story rather than simply hearing it.
Audible is also experimenting with how listeners interact with the production. Dracula introduces the company’s first Character Guide, which allows listeners to see who is speaking while listening and provides spoiler-safe character cards with narrator information.
There is more coming, too. Audible says an Interactive Story centered on Renfield will arrive in the coming months as part of a limited beta exploring new AI-powered ways for listeners to interact with stories. In that experience, listeners will be able to converse directly with Renfield and influence how the bonus story unfolds.
It’s time for Dracula to sink his teeth into more than just your neck, now he’s coming for your ears too! Man, this guy is incorrigible.