Stranger Things: The First Shadow – meet the West End cast

Earlier this week we sat down with some of the principal cast members of the world premiere production of Stranger Things: The First Shadow at the Phoenix Theatre, ahead of tonight’s official opening.

We chatted all things Stranger Things with Louis McCartney (who plays Henry Creel in the stage prequel), Patrick Vaill (Dr Brenner), Isabella Pappas (Joyce Maldonado), Oscar Lloyd (James Hopper Jr), Christopher Buckley (Bob Newby), Lauren Ward (Virginia Creel), Michael Jibson (Victor Creel) and Ella Karuna Williams (Patty Newby), alongside writer Kate Trefry and co-director Justin Martin.

Check out our video below:

Unlike the TV series, the stage prequel is set in 1959 with characters including a young Jim Hopper, Joyce Maldonado, Bob Newby and Henry Creel (played respectively by David Harbour, Winona Ryder, Sean Astin and Jamie Campbell Bower on screen).

Featuring an original story by the Duffer Brothers, Jack Thorne and Trefry, Stranger Things: The First Shadow is penned by Trefry and directed by Stephen Daldry, with co-direction by Martin. It is produced by Netflix and Sonia Friedman Productions. It has recently received eight WhatsOnStage Award nominations, including Best Professional Debut Performance for McCartney and Best New Play.

Also appearing in the cast are Shane Attwooll as Chief Hopper, Kemi Awoderu as Sue Anderson, Chase Brown as Lonnie Byers, Ammar Duffus as Charles Sinclair, Gilles Geary as Ted Wheeler, Florence Guy as Karen Childress, Max Harwood as Allen Munson, Matthew Pidgeon as Father Newby, Calum Ross as Walter Henderson, and Maisie Norma Seaton as Claudia Henderson.

Completing the company are Tricia Adele-Turner, Lauren Arney, Reya-Nyomi Brown, Patricia Castro, Lydia Fraser, Isaac Gryn, Mark Hammersley, Tom Peters, Kingdom Sibanda, Tiana Simone, Danny Sykes and Meesha Turner.

Stranger Things: The First Shadow features scenic design by Miriam Buether, costume design by Brigitte Reiffenstuel, lighting design by Jon Clark, sound design by Paul Arditti, illusions design and visual effects by Jamie Harrison and Chris Fisher, video design and visual effects by 59 Productions, original music and arrangements by D J Walde, choreography by Coral Messam, movement direction by Lynne Page, and wigs, hair and make-up design by Campbell Young Associates. The technical director is Gary Beestone for Gary Beestone Associates, props supervision is by Mary Halliday, dialect coaching by William Conacher, fight direction by Kev McCurdy, casting by Jessica Ronane Casting CDG with additional casting by Charlotte Sutton CDG, and international casting consultancy by Jim Carnahan.

Tickets are on sale below.