Stranger Things: The First Shadow announce new leads and West End extension
Posted on
| By
Sian McBride
Stranger Things: The First Shadow has extended its run at London’s Phoenix Theatre, AND revealed a new host of students joining Hawkins High! Now playing until 5 April 2026, the stage prequel takes place decades before the bike chases, the Christmas lights, and the Upside Down of the Netflix series. Instead, audiences are transported to 1959, where the Creel family’s arrival in Hawkins sparks a chain of eerie events that hint at the darkness still to come.
From 12th November (exactly 2 weeks before the Stranger Things series finale on Netflix) the multi award-winning production will see Jack Christou (The Crucible) as Henry Creel, Stewart Clarke (Cabaret) as Dr. Brenner, Avril Maponga (Witness for the Prosecution) as Patty Newby, Max Potter (My Neighbour Totoro) as Bob Newby, Adam Wadsworth (Harry Potter and the Cursed Child) as James Hopper Jr., and Edie Wright (Back to the Future) as Joyce Maldonado.
Kate Trefry’s script, directed by Stephen Daldry (Billy Elliot) with Justin Martin (Prima Facie), builds a story that is both nostalgic and unnervingly fresh. The Phoenix Theatre is transformed into Hawkins by Miriam Buether’s sets, Brigitte Reiffenstuel’s costumes, Jon Clark’s lighting, and Paul Arditti’s sound design. D.J. Walde provides an original score, while illusionists Jamie Harrison and Chris Fisher - best known for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - supply jaw-dropping stage magic and visual effects that blur the line between theatre and the Upside Down.
Few TV shows make the leap to stage with such confidence, but Stranger Things: The First Shadow is a phenomenon in its own right. With gripping performances, state-of-the-art stagecraft and a story that deepens the mythology of Netflix’s most-watched series, this West End hit proves Hawkins is just as haunting in the theatre as it is on screen.
Stranger Things: The First Shadow now plays at Phoenix Theatre until 5 April 2026.