Curtains Upside Down: 'Stranger Things: The First Shadow' to premiere later this year on London's West End

Netflix

A Stranger Things play will debut late this year at the Phoenix Theatre in London's West End, Netflix announced Wednesday.

Based on an original story by the Duffer Brothers, who created the streaming phenomenon, as well as former show writer Kate Trefry and English theater veteran Jack Thorne, Stranger Things: The First Shadow will be directed by Tony Award winner Stephen Daldry and Justin Martin.

The production will take place before the famously '80s-set show. The producers tease, "Hawkins, 1959: a regular town with regular worries. 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."

Netflix adds, "Brought to life by a multi-award-winning creative team, who take theatrical storytelling and stagecraft to a whole new dimension, this gripping new adventure will take you right back to the beginning of the Stranger Things story – and may hold the key to the end."

For their part, a "beyond excited" Matt and Ross Duffer enthused, "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."

The added, "Can't wait to see you nerds in London!"

Fans can preregister for tickets now.

Wednesday, March 1, 2023 at 1:01PM by Stephen Iervolino Permalink