Netflix’s Stranger Things releases preview featurette ahead of West End bow

As Stranger Things prepares to head from the small screen to the West End, in one of the most anticipated theatre events of the year, producer Sonia Friedman is promising audiences something “that has never been done before on stage”.

As Stranger Things: The First Shadow, the stage spin-off of Netflix’s mega-hit show, gears up for its November 17 previews, the team behind the new stage adaptation have now released a featurette showing the making of the highly anticipated play.

“This is a cinematic experience mixed with the high stakes and excitement of live theatre,” says Isabella Pappas, who plays the young Joyce Maldonado (who is played by Winona Ryder in the series) in the clip.

The three-minute video includes interviews with the cast members, the Stranger Things creators the Duffer Brothers, producer Friedman, director Stephen Daldry, and the play’s co-writer, Kate Trefry.

It introduces audiences to the storyline, while also showing behind-the-scenes sequences of the cast rehearsing, chopped with scenes taken from the film.

The play is a new story by the Duffer Brothers, with Harry Potter and the Cursed Child writer Jack Thorne and Kate Trefry, the story editor of Stranger Things.

Previously, Matt and Ross Duffer said: “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.”

Stranger Things: The First Shadow will take fans back in time: “Hawkins, 1959: a regular town with regular worries,” says the play’s description. “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.”

It then teases: “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.”

Tony Award winner Daldry, who directed the films Billy Elliot and The Reader as well as numerous award-winning stage productions including 2013’s Gielgud Theatre’s The Audience with Helen Mirren, is directing with co-direction from Martin, who most recently directed the award-winning play Prima Facie starring Jodie Comer.

Sonia Friedman, a long-term collaborator of Daldry, said: “The world and mythology of Stranger Things has enabled a rich and fertile ground for creating an incredible story for the stage.

“The Duffer Brothers have built a huge global following for good reason, and a world-class creative team has built on their boundless imagination to dream up an unbelievably exciting theatrical event for our audiences.”

The cast for the production was announced in September. Welsh actor Shane Attwooll (Legend, Kingdom of Heaven) will play Chief Hopper, the father of Jim Hopper (who is played by David Harbour in the hit TV show), while Oscar Lloyd (Emmerdale) will play James Hopper, Jr.

Isabella Pappas (Finding Alice) will play a younger version of Joyce Maldonado; Christopher Buckley will play Joyce’s future boyfriend Bob Newby; and Chase Brown will play Lonnie Byers, who later marries Joyce. Then, Patrick Vaill (How White Heist) will play antagonist Dr. Brenner, posing the question as to whether Brenner will already be bad in the Fifties.

“The cast of Stranger Things: The First Shadow is nothing short of phenomenal,” said Matt and Ross Duffer. “We couldn’t be more thrilled and can’t wait for you to meet them all live on stage. See you in London, nerds!”

Ella Karuna Williams will star as Patty Newby and Louis McCartney will star as Henry Creel. Kemi Awoderu, Ammar Duffus, Gilles Geary, Florence Guy, Max Harwood, Michael Jibson, Louis McCartney, Matthew Pidgeon, Calum Ross and Maisie Norma Seaton will also star in the upcoming stage show.

Daldry and Martin said: “With rehearsals now underway, it’s a joy to discover the world of Stranger Things: The First Shadow with our ferociously talented cast and watch the alchemy amongst our entire company grow as we together explore this new play. They’re an extraordinarily gifted group of actors, and we can’t wait to share this origin story with audiences.”

The wider creative team includes set design by Miriam Buether, who was recently nominated for an Olivier award for To Kill a Mockingbird; lighting design by Jon Clark; costume design by Brigitte Reiffenstuel and sound design by Paul Arditti.

Stranger Things has been a huge hit for Netflix. Its fourth season, which was released in 2022, tops the streamer’s most popular English TV list with 1.35 billion hours viewed.

How do I get tickets?

Tickets went on sale in March and have been selling like mad, but there are still some available to buy here.

There is also a new initiative that will be providing £19.59 ‘Shadow Seats’ – seats that don’t show up on the main booking page – with the aim of welcoming as wide an audience as possible to the upcoming performances. Fans can sign up to the scheme by downloading the TodayTix app and entering a lottery.

To sign up for the Shadow Seats scheme, fans need to download the TodayTix app. Every Friday they can enter a lottery to win two tickets to see one of the performances. The initiative started on November 3, and the first winners will be announced today on November 6, aka Stranger Things Day.

Stranger Things: The First Shadow, Phoenix Theatre, previews from November 17; thephoenixtheatre.co.uk