Hawkins, 1959: a regular town with regular worries. Young 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. When new student Henry Creel arrives, his family finds that a fresh start isn’t so easy… and the shadows of the past have a very long reach.
Brought to life by a multi-award-winning creative team, who take theatrical storytelling and stagecraft to a whole new dimension, this gripping new adventure will take you right back to the beginning of the Stranger Things story – and may hold the key to the end.
It could have risked devolving into campy schmaltz but Kate Trefry, along with Jack Thorne, pen a standalone story that stands strongly on its own two feet. An adventure romp brimming with action and exploding with spectacle, expect a fare few winks to the fans along the way and a healthy dash of horror.
Being directed by Daldry, who also helmed the brilliant “Billy Elliot: The Musical” and many episodes of “The Crown,” you expect a certain level of capability and artistry walking in. Yet “First Shadow” is inelegant and confusing, and the special effects are hardly special. He spins the actors on a revolve over and over like a tumble dryer at the laundromat. One or two moments are striking — in over three freakin’ hours — but you’ve seen them all before.
2023 | West End |
West End |
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