A first of its kind trailer for Stranger Things: The First Shadow has been released teasing the hit West End show as the production announces it is being extended.
The Netflix-spin off first hit theatre land at the end of last year and its huge success with Stranger Things fans has earned it a run into next year at the Phoenix Theatre.
The new trailer teases the groundbreaking theatrical special effects on film for the first time, as the show’s villain Henry Creel’s origin story is brought to life.
The play is a prequel set 20 years before the streaming platform’s sci-fi phenomenon and follows the story of how Creel became the fearsome antagonist, Vecna.
The production is also set in the fictional town of Hawkins, which is described as a ‘a regular town with regular worries’.
A first of its kind trailer for Stranger Things : The First Shadow has been released teasing the hit West End show as the production announces it is being extended
The Netflix-spin off first hit theatre land at the end of last year and its huge success with Stranger Things fans has earned it a run into next year at the Phoenix Theatre
The new trailer teases the groundbreaking theatrical special effects on film for the first time, as the show’s villain Henry Creel’s origin story is brought to life
Recognisable characters from the series are seen as their younger selves; 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.
New student Henry arrives in town hoping for a fresh start with his family but finds that a fresh start isn’t so easy – and the shadows of the past have a very long reach.
Brought to life by an award-winning creative team, this gripping adventure takes fans back to the beginning of the story – and may hold the key to the end.
The eerie trailer begins with Creel’s arrival in Hawkins joined by his parents Victor and Virginia, as the voiceover says: ‘The perfect home for the perfect family, this is going to be a fresh start, for all of us’.
Creel is seen moving through the crowds at school as his peers go about their lives while he walks alone, a voice, presumably his mother’s, says: ‘If you start to feel upset, just take a deep breath and say to yourself…’
Creel then says: ‘I’m Henry Creel, I’m normal – it’s not real’, as he tries to steady himself in front of a bathroom sink, before forming a connection with Patty Newby, daughter of the school principal.
Viewers are then transported to Hawkins National Laboratory, which will be recognisable to fans from the series where Eleven escapes from after being experimented on as a young girl due to her supernatural powers.
The play is a prequel set 20 years before the streaming platform’s sci-fi phenomenon and follows the story of how Creel became the fearsome antagonist, Vecna
The production is also set in the fictional town of Hawkins, which is described as a ‘a regular town with regular worries’.
The eerie trailer begins with Creel’s arrival in Hawkins joined by his parents Victor and Virginia, as the voiceover says: ‘The perfect home for the perfect family, this is going to be a fresh start, for all of us’.
Creel is seen moving through the crowds at school as his peers go about their lives while he walks alone, a voice, presumably his mother’s, says: ‘If you start to feel upset, just take a deep breath and say to yourself…’
Creel then says: ‘I’m Henry Creel, I’m normal – it’s not real’, as he tries to steady himself in front of a bathroom sink’
Creel forms a connection with Patty Newby, daughter of the school principal
A darker force then begins to take over Creel as he battles with his inner demons, which results in him levitating into the air while gripped in a trance.
A flashing sequences then teases some incredible illusions designs and visual effects a darkness takes over the town.
The new play is written by series writer and co-executive producer Kate Trefry and directed by The Crown’s Stephen Daldry with co-director Prima Facie’s Justin Martin.
Matt and Ross Duffer, who are the creators of the Netflix series, previously said: ‘The cast of Stranger Things: The First Shadow is nothing short of phenomenal.
‘These actors brilliantly explore the early days of many fan favourites – including Hopper, Joyce, Bob, Henry and Dr. Brenner – while also bringing new characters to vivid life.
‘We couldn’t be more thrilled and can’t wait for you to meet them all live on stage. See you in London, nerds!’
The First Shadow stars include Shane Attwooll, Christopher Buckley, Michael Jibson, Oscar Lloyd, Louis McCartney, Isabella Pappas, Patrick Vaill, Lauren Ward and Ella Karuna Williams.
The ensemble includes Kemi Awoderu, Chase Brown, Ammar Duffus, Gilles Geary, Florence Guy, Max Harwood, Matthew Pidgeon, Calum Ross, Maisie Norma Seaton, 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.
Recognisable characters from the series are seen as their younger selves; 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
Viewers are then transported to Hawkins National Laboratory, which will be recognisable to fans from the series where Eleven escapes from after being experimented on as a young girl due to her supernatural powers
A darker force then begins to take over Creel as he battles with his inner demons, which results in him levitating into the air while gripped in a trance
A flashing sequences then teases some incredible illusions designs and visual effects a darkness takes over the town
The new play is written by series writer and co-executive producer Kate Trefry and directed by The Crown’s Stephen Daldry with co-director Prima Facie’s Justin Martin
Creel’s wrist is tattooed with a number from Hawkins National Laboratory
People in hazmat suits take to the stage as a dark force begins to take over the town
The show will be produced by Netflix and Sonia Friedman Productions whilst the Duffer Brothers act as creative producers.
Stranger Things premiered in July 2016 and swiftly became one of Netflix’s most popular TV series ever and its fourth season alone garnered over 140.7 million global views.
Grounded in 80s nostalgia, the show has rekindled interest in pop culture artefacts from that era with each new season, such as Eggo waffles and New Coke.
In June 2022, the series revitalised Kate Bush’s song Running Up That Hill, when it was featured as an emotional cornerstone in Max’s character journey (played by Sadie Sink) causing a surge in Spotify streams.
The series has also amassed more than 70 awards globally, including Emmys and the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series, and received nominations for over 230 awards.
REVIEW: Stranger Things: The First Shadow
Phoenix Theatre, London
Rating: 
Barely five minutes into this show, a punchy blast of smoke whooshes through my hair – and supernatural fragments drift from the ceiling and into my gin & slim.
I’d just got out of my coat before there are gunshots, a screaming toothy monster and a giant sinking warship. But I settle down, confident I’m in safe theatrical hands.
Yes, it’s Netflix milking a brand. Yes, it’s the West End indulging in a screen favourite instead of promoting something new.
But it’s thrillingly done – magic and dramatic.
For Stranger Things virgins, or those who enjoyed the show and forgot it (me), this is very handily a prequel. I heard superfans ‘ah-ha’ at references that passed me by. But newbies are well catered for.
I’d just got out of my coat before there are gunshots, a screaming toothy monster and a giant sinking warship. But I settle down, confident I’m in safe theatrical hands
Barely five minutes into this show, a punchy blast of smoke whooshes through my hair – and supernatural fragments drift from the ceiling and into my gin & slim
Did I fully understand the plot? Absolutely not. Did it matter? Also no. We’re in the States, in the small town of Hawkins, in the late fifties. Young Henry Creel has moved here with his family.
The nosebleed-inducing visions of another world quickly mark him out as not quite right. Classic puberty this is not. Everything goes up a gear when he befriends Patty Newby and they’re cast as lovers in the school play.
The beast stalking Henry’s alternative dimension soon goes from haunting to killing and the teenage versions of Joyce, Hopper and Lonnie (seen as adults in the TV series) set about investigating the deaths.
At one point they use the school play to trap a suspect (a Hamlet reference I could loudly ‘ah-ha’ to… one up on the superfans).
Every penny of your exorbitant ticket price is there on stage. There’s a Vegas dream sequence, a flying cat that meets a sticky end, an exploding rat, terrifying slow motion falls. Bodies shoot through the ceiling, single characters appear twice before you.
Things could not be stranger. In one moment you see an actor’s sweet face… then, with one turn of the head, they become monstrous and bloody. It’s deft and dazzling.
Searching: Isabella Pappas as Joyce, Oscar Lloyd as Hopper and Chris Buckley as Bob Newby, right
This could feel like a theme park ride were it not for a witty script by Kate Trefry and outstanding lead performances. Ella Karuna Williams as Patty and Louis McCartney as Henry are (unbelievably) making their professional stage debuts.
They brilliantly embody painful lives. McCartney nails the cold but terrified look of a disturbed child trying to fight his way out of it.
Stephen Daldry, having directed The Crown and Billy Elliot, marries Netflix largesse with West End substance. ‘Prepare to excite your inner 14-year-old,’ he said to me pre-show, helping himself to the bar like he owned the place. If this goes down well, he probably will.
A nimble set with a revolve keeps things pacey and almost televisual, albeit three hours long. I flagged a couple of times. But the spectacle is an exciting reminder of what theatre, at its most magical, can do.
