Netflix to make West End debut with Stranger Things

THE hit Netflix show, Stranger Things, is to be given a West End spin-off as the US streaming service makes its first foray into theatre.

The play, based on the popular sci-fi series, will be set in the same small fictional town of Hawkins, Indiana, but the tale begins in 1959 and takes audiences “right back to the beginning of the Stranger Things story”.

Directed by Stephen Daldry, Stranger Things: The First Shadow is due to open at the Phoenix Theatre in London later this year.

This is the first stage production from Netflix. The firm has chosen to open the play in the West End rather than on Broadway, but the show is expected to transfer if it proves to be a hit.

The original story was co-written by Matt and Ross Duffer, who created the television show, Jack Thorne, who wrote the West End hit Harry Potter and the Cursed Child and Kate Trefry, a writer for the series.

Netflix will co-produce the play with Sonia Friedman, and promises a show that will “take theatrical storytelling and stagecraft to a whole new dimension”. Friedman 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.

“This new play opens in London, with the West End hosting the only place in the world to experience this new story – for now. I’m thrilled to reunite with my visionary long-term collaborator Stephen Daldry.”

Daldry directed not only Billy Elliot: The Musical for the stage but the film version too which was released in 2000.

The Duffer Brothers 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. Can’t wait to see you nerds in London.”