Date/Time: Friday, 28th June 2024 at 13:00
Location: Phoenix Theatre, Charing Cross Road, London, WC2H 0JP
Price: £77 per person. Member and guest £154. Face value £107pp
Event Organiser: Pete Wells. Flat 7, Wayfaring Court, Safflower Lane, Romford RM3 0LQ
It starts with those floating red letters and that electro-ethereal music. The intro creates the surreal effect of Netflix’s sci-fi juggernaut being brought to life as a stage-sized facsimile before our eyes. But the big surprise about this prequel to the TV series, about high-schoolers who tap into the dangerous world of the Upside Down, is that it is neither derivative nor an exercise in imitation. This is breathtaking theatre with its own arresting imagination.
With an original story by the Duffer brothers, Jack Thorne and Kate Trefry, we are still in Hawkins, Indiana, where pets are mysteriously dying, but it kicks off exactly four decades before the 1983 start of the first TV series. Writer Trefry takes a flashback from the fourth season and turns it into a typically complicated plot, although my 10-year-old companion (the guidance is for 12+) had no problem following it.
The production has the same sense of sprawling mystery, beginning with the disappearance of a wartime naval ship and a laboratory experiment that explains the birth of the Upside Down. There is no Eleven yet but Henry Creel (Louis McCartney), the new kid in town, brings dark powers. He has an oddball romance with Patty (Ella Karuna Williams) and a sinister relationship with Dr Brenner (Patrick Vaill).
Note: This production contains gunfire audio, loud noises and explosions, haze and smoke, flashing lights and strobe, and strong language. There are depictions of various mental health conditions and disorders.
Event Booking
Please note that all bookings are subject to our Event Booking Rules.
The standard, printable event booking sheet is downloadable here.