A Stranger Things play is coming to the West End 🙌
This is going to be amazing!
Last updated 3rd Mar 2023
Based on the original story of the Duffer Brothers, the hit Netflix series Stranger Things is getting a West End debut. Stranger Things: The First Shadow, a new play written by Kate Trefry, will receive its world premiere in late 2023 at the Phoenix Theatre in London.
Created by the Duffer Brothers, Stranger Things debuted on Netflix on 15 July 2016. Its fourth season, released in 2022, tops Netflix's Most Popular English TV list at Number 1 with 1.35 billion hours viewed. The third season, released in 2019, still holds at Number 6 with 582.1 million hours viewed.
The series has garnered over 70 awards worldwide including Emmys and the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series, and has been nominated for over 230 awards.
This new play by Kate Trefry, a writer and co-executive producer for the TV series of Stranger Things, will be rooted in the mythology and world of the Netflix global phenomenon.
Set in Hawkins 1959, a young Jim Hopper's car won't start, Bob Newby’s sister won’t take his radio show seriously and Joyce Maldonado just wants to graduate and get the hell out of town. When new student Henry Creel arrives, his family finds that a fresh start isn’t so easy, and the shadows of the past have a very long reach.
Directed by Stephen Daldry with co-direction by Justin Martin, produced by Netflix and Sonia Friedman Productions, the Duffer Brothers act as creative producers, with 21 Laps as associate producer. The play will go on sale this spring.
Matt and Ross Duffer said: "We are beyond excited about Stranger Things: The First Shadow. Collaborating with the brilliant Stephen Daldry has been nothing short of inspiring, and Kate Trefry has written a play that is at turns surprising, scary, and heartfelt.
"You will meet endearing new characters, as well as very familiar ones, on a journey into the past that sets the groundwork for the future of Stranger Things. We’re dying to tell you more about the story but won't - it’s more fun to discover it for yourself. Can’t wait to see you nerds in London!"
With further ticket information and performance schedule and full creative team and cast to be announced at a later date.
Check out the facts you probably didn't know about Stranger Things:
1)
To help sell the show, the Duffers edited a mock 'trailer' combining clips from over 25 feature films, including E.T., Nightmare on Elm Street, Super 8 and Halloween.
2)
The composers of the Stranger Things soundtrack (Michael Stein and Kyle Dixon) were two members of an Austin synth band called SURVIVE; their music was featured in the soundtrack of the film The Guest.
3)
Michael Stein and Kyle Dixon have written over 13 hours of music for the show.
4)
Winona Ryder wanted her hairstyle modeled after Meryl Streep's hair in Silkwood.
5)
The title sequence was inspired by the work of Richard Greenberg, who designed a number of classic 80s title sequences including Alien, Altered States, Superman and The Goonies - which starred a young Sean Astin, who later appeared in Stranger Things as Joyce's boyfriend Bob Newby.
6)
Winona Ryder and Matthew Modine (Dr. Martin Brenner) have appeared together once before, in the music video for Roy Orbison's 'A Love So Beautiful'.
7)
Gaten Matarazzo (Dustin) and Caleb McLaughlin (Lucas) have both acted on Broadway. Gaten played Gavroche in Les Miserables and Caleb played Young Simba in The Lion King. The two boys knew each other but they didn't become close friends until after working on Stranger Things.
8)
Charlie Heaton (Jonathan Byers) and Millie Brown (Eleven) are both from the UK. Charlie is from Bridlington, East Yorkshire, and Millie is from Bournemouth, Dorset.
9)
To help sell the show, the Duffers created a 'look book' which was designed in the style of a vintage Stephen King novel.
10)
Gaten's voice changed so much by the time production ended that the sound team were unable to use him for additional dialogue recording.
11)
Although the show was shot digitally on the RED Dragon, a layer of real film grain was applied to help achieve a more vintage look.
12)
It was Caleb's request to wear a camouflage bandana in the show; he wears it for the final three episodes.
13)
The monster was achieved through a combination of prosthetics, animatronics, performance and CG.
14)
The toddlers on set were very scared by the 'monster', but they were calmed when told that he was just like the monsters in Monsters Inc.
15)
Finn Wolfhard, who plays Mike Wheeler, is a film buff and wants to be a director when he grows up. He is a particular fan of Sam Raimi's early work.
16)
The gang really did create a salt bath, and Millie Bobby Brown actually floated - there were no effects used! To get Millie to float in a kiddie pool, twelve hundred pounds of epsom salt were dissolved into the water.
17)
Before starting the show, the writers all watched (or rewatched) a large list of films, including E.T., Stand By Me, The Goonies, The Thing and A Nightmare on Elm Street.
18)
Millie had to shave most of her hair off for the show and as can be expected of any 11Â-year-old girl this was a terrifying prospect. The Duffers showed her how cool Charlize Theron looked in Mad Max: Fury Road after which Millie agreed to it.
19)
The Duffers had all the boys audition with scenes from Stand By Me.
20)
Hopper's trailer was purchased by the art department for $1.
21)
For some of the laboratory scenes, Millie (Eleven) was fully submerged in an underwater immersion tank. She was able to breathe by wearing a Sea Trek helmet, which weighs approximately 70 lbs above water; it weighs 15 lbs beneath the surface of the water. The helmet was designed for shallow 'underwater walking'.
22)
To direct Millie while she was underwater, the Duffers communicated with her through a small radio in her ear.
You can keep updated by visiting the Stranger Things on stage website.
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