New Stranger Things content is coming this year, but it’s not the fifth season. The Netflix series’ co-executive producer Kate Trefry has penned Stranger Things: The First Shadow, a prequel stage play that will premiere at London’s Phoenix Theatre in late 2023. The play is based on an original story by Stranger Things creators Matt and Ross Duffer, Jack Thorne (Enola Holmes) and Trefry.
The First Shadow is described as: “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. 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.”
A new Stranger Things story…
Tomorrow. 11am GMT.#StrangerThingsOnStage pic.twitter.com/le7tzkvV3j— Stranger Things On Stage (@STOnStage) February 28, 2023
Stephen Daldry (The Crown, Billy Elliot) will direct, in collaboration with co-director Justin Martin. The creative team also includes Set design by Miriam Buether; costume design by Brigitte Reiffenstuel; lighting design by Jon Clark; sound design by Paul Arditti; illusions design by Jamie Harrison & Chris Fisher; video design by 59 Productions; movement direction by Coral Messam; wigs, hair and makeup design by Campbell Young Associates; and technical direction by Gary Beestone for Gary Beestone Associates.
“We are beyond excited about Stranger Things: The First Shadow,” the Duffer brothers said in a statement. “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.”
“Stranger Things has captured the imagination of fans around the world, and we are incredibly thrilled to expand this exciting universe with Netflix’s first live stage production,” said Greg Lombardo, VP Live Experiences at Netflix. “With the creative talents of Matt and Ross Duffer combined with Sonia Friedman and Stephen Daldry, theatergoers will be swept up in a truly epic event worthy of Stranger Things.”
The First Shadow serves as Netflix’s first live theater production. Sonia Friedman Productions produces, with series executive producer Shawn Levy’s 21 Laps serving as associate producer.
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