Stranger Things: The First Shadow - Phoenix

Very early on in previews, it wasn’t in for long at all.

It's back in the show. Or at least it was last night (in the prologue).

I wasn't bored. I've watched the first two seasons of the show and enjoyed them but haven't felt the need to go back to it. As for the play - it's not much. There is no "there" there. The characters are cardboard and so I didn't invest emotionally in any of them. The jokes fall flat and the performances are at best perfunctory. The effects are good but, this is a theme park ride and not a theatrical one. As a Theme Park Ride its miles ahead of "Back to the Future" as a theatrical one it's way,way behind "Harry Potter". I would say if you're a fan of the show, you'll have a good time. But if you're not? Skip it.

That seems very unlikely given they have the panto scheduled and a load of concerts. 

It was very clearly a joke 😂

No idea! But incredibly excited to see Alex Young do more plays. 

I guess she's done it three times already?

Fair enough, just thought a WE transfer would be fairly alluring.

...the NT pays famously badly!

Casting notices in NYC went out on Thursday.

West End production extending until Dec, on sale tomorrow at 9am to ATG + members.

I'm surprised how little buzz this show is getting here.

It's my favourite show that I've seen over the last year.


For fans of the show, this is a must see in my opinion.

The effects are superb - I prefer them to Harry Potter, but I did see it from 2nd row in stalls, so it had a bigger impact on me.

The main character, Henry Creel, played by Louis McCartney does an amazing job. It's hard to believe this is his stage debut. He even fightens me and I'm twice his size 
The actors for Patty, young Hopper and young Joyce does a great job as well.

There's some really gripping and rather intense scenes that keeps you on the edge of your seat, particularly if you're sat near the action.
If you watch Stranger things for the upside down, Vecna and Demigorgon, you'll be in for a thrill.
They even incorporate some real life conspiracy theories like the Philadelphia experiment.

The whole 'play within a play' thing, I could probably have lived without but it does have a reason to be there so I don't mind it.

I bought my ticket 368 days ago when they were first released. It has been such a long wait for this production and this afternoon I finally got the chance to watch it.

And it was brilliant!!!

I'm a huge Stranger Things fan so I'm biased of course. It's a show that absolutely plays to the fans. Non-fans will likely struggle at times to follow but I hope the supernatural element will hook them in.

So many strong performances overall. Special mention though to poor Isabella Pappas who had to pull out midway through the first act. Nothing dramatic. The black curtain came down and there was a delay for about ten minutes before restarting. These thing happen. A reminder of how hard and draining acting in theatre can be sometimes. Hope she's okay. The audience clapped along which was wonderful and well mannered.

Speaking of the audience, they were really well behaved. I was so happy and relaxed throughout. Speaks to how well the show was technically I think that kept them enthralled.

Ah, the technicals. INCREDIBLE. Just mesmirising from start to finish and you can tell good money had been spent in the right places. Netflix really had their toes here in the right places. Score was also in sync with the show which really helped in capturing the magic of the show onto stage.

The story is great too. Serves as a teaser for Season 5 as well as offering new takes on the existing adult characters and how they found themselves to their lives in 80s Hawkins is fascinating to watch unfold.

My only gripe was my rubbish seats. E28 in the stalls. Not the best view. Missing at least some of the action which wasn't the best. Still didn't affect my overall enjoyment of the show that much.

So yeah, 5/5 stars for me. A fantastic show all around. Hope for some Olivier wins in the coming weeks.