Three-day conference and celebration marking the 103rd anniversary of the 1924 stage debut of Dracula in Derby, with talks, panels, performances and Dracula's Bazaar.
Dracula Returns A.D.2027 runs from 14 to 16 May at QUAD in Market Place, a three-day conference and celebration marking the 103rd anniversary of the stage debut that gave us the modern Dracula. Saturday 15 May is Derby Dracula Day, the date that ties the whole thing together.
If you've ever wondered why Dracula is always pictured in a tuxedo rather than as a feral monster, this is where it started. On 15 May 1924, Hamilton Deane's stage adaptation premiered right here in Derby, reimagining Bram Stoker's Count as the suave, evening-dressed figure the world now recognises — a look Bela Lugosi carried into the 1931 film. The conference is built around that moment, with talks, panels, performances and Dracula's Bazaar. It's the second in the series, following the inaugural Dracula Returns conference in May 2025, which brought together more than 100 delegates and international speakers from Italy, Ireland, Moldova, the Czech Republic, Spain and Romania.
The event is run by Derby Dracula, the community interest company continuing the work of the AHRC-funded Dracula Returns to Derby project, led by the University of Derby with Derby Museums, Sheffield Hallam University and Bournemouth University. Since 2024, the project has staged over 80 public events, including the Pickford's House exhibition Dracula Returns to Derby: 101 Years and Counting, a city trail of some twenty sites and the Florence Stoker Award. In 2026, Catherine Atkinson MP told the House of Commons that Derby was 'reclaiming Dracula as a son of Derby'.
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It's an in-person event, so you'll need to be here in the city to take part. The delegate fee is £149, which includes food and drink, with a day rate and a concession to follow. The full conference runs from 14 to 16 May at QUAD, with Derby Dracula Day on Saturday 15 May.
