Stranger Things

Stranger Things

Transcript

00:00 We were in the middle of breaking season four with our writers.

00:04 We started going, "Okay, well, there's definitely more story to tell here."

00:07 We wanted to tell an original story set in the Stranger Things universe.

00:11 And then we heard Stephen Daldry was interested in doing a play.

00:15 He's the director of all these movies, and he's an incredibly accomplished theater director.

00:20 And that really is how The First Shadow came about.

00:24 Stranger Things, The First Shadow is a prequel.

00:28 And it's opening in London.

00:30 It really is a story exploring when Henry Creel first moved into Hawkins.

00:36 In every Stranger Things story, there's a new, really important character, which in this case is Patty Newby.

00:41 We are in Hawkins in 1959 with young Joyce, young Hopper, and young Bob.

00:47 We have Henry, and everyone's trying to figure out their lives in high school.

00:53 The main thrust of the story is Patty and her little budding romance with Henry.

00:59 It's also the origin story of how Henry Creel became number one.

01:05 It's the origin of Stranger Things. It's the origin of the Upside Down.

01:10 I've loved Stranger Things.

01:16 The series has been a worldwide success, and it's really been a passion project for me for years.

01:23 Steve and I have worked together for, what is it, 17 years now.

01:26 We've always gone, "How can we push the barriers of this and not see a moment as a challenge?"

01:30 The team behind First Shadow, it's the Ultimis, the dream team.

01:34 We had a workshop day that like half of our team was gone because they all won Tonys.

01:40 It's exciting. It's exciting to explore Stranger Things in this new medium.

01:46 There are a lot of monsters. There are a lot of blood and gut effects.

01:49 There are a lot of vanishes and appearances and lots of other things that I'm not going to tell you about now

01:54 because I don't want to spoil the surprise for the audience.

01:56 There are so many Easter eggs. It's Easter morning.

01:59 We were fascinated to explore that genre for theatre.

02:05 This has never been done before on stage.

02:09 Fans are really in for a treat.

02:12 This is a cinematic experience mixed with the high stakes and kind of excitement of live theatre.

02:19 This spectacle is going to be right there in your face.

02:22 You're going to have the audience reacting in a way that simply is impossible with a show.

02:26 It's completely mind-blowing.

02:29 It's really crazy what they're going to be doing.

02:32 You're going to see Stranger Things on stage in a way that you aren't expecting.

02:36 I think people are going to lose their minds.

02:40 Just come along and see it, man, because it is...

02:46 Woo!

02:48 [Music]