As fans await Stranger Things season 5, an official prequel play produced by The Duffer Brothers called Stranger Things: The First Shadow is set to open in London’s West End on November 17.
The Netflix hit TV series began in 1983, but this theatrical story takes place in 1959 following young Joyce, Hopper and Bob in high school.
As teased by the behind-the-scene featurette below, the thrust of the narrative follows a budding romance between a young Henry Creel and a new “really important” character called Patty Newby.
The First Shadow will explore how Henry Creel became Number 001 and the origins of the Upside Down.
The cast and crew promise tons of monsters, blood and guts and “so many Easter eggs” from the TV series that “it’s Easter morning.”
An official synopsis reads: “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.”
The production 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.”
Stranger Things: The First Shadow runs at the Phoenix Theatre from Nov 17, 2023 until June 30, 2024 and tickets can be booked here.