Strangerthingsonstage Reviews 132

Went into the show already expecting great acting and cool staging, but OH MY, this experience has been unreal. I still wonder how they pulled to do some of th ethings seen on stage. Also, the acting, WOW, breathtaking. I am sure this will not be the last show I will see the cast in

Magnificent cast, set and acting. The chap playing young Creel was simply wonderful and us destined for great things. We enjoyed it enormously. Booked for husband’s birthday. I thought it was just the right length but he’d have been happy for it to have gone for longer.

Wow what a show!
Thank you for Phoenix Theatre to let us watch the show. Originally we had tickets for the 12 May, we went to the theatre but we had to leave before the show started because of an urgent medical emergency. The theatre let us watch the show in an alternate date. We’re really grateful, the show was spectacular and we wouldn’t miss it. The stage and the effects were spectacular, just amazed us and the actrors/actresses were really talented, totally taken us back to the series.
We really enjoyed it, if you’re a stranger things fun it’s a must to watch! 👏🏻👏🏻☺️

Absolutely epic from the Opening Scene to the last.
Taking us back to 1959 Hawkins, this was a truly amazing stage show & without a doubt my absolute favourite to date. The cast have fully embraced the Stranger Things universe with the younger versions of some known characters carried out with great execution. The writing & story is on point. It genuinely feels part of the bigger story & not a spin off for the sake of it. I’d love to see it on TV in a few years time as a mini series or movie. It does raise a couple of consistency questions from what we see in season 4 but it just gets your brain going about what the final season will deliver. It is n absolute MUST for any fan. The Phoenix is small, but extremely well kept & the experience was brilliant overall

If you’re a fan of Stranger Things, I highly recommend this show! We had a fantastic evening and I was hooked from start to finish.

Incredible - one of the best shows I've ever seen!

The show was overall good but very bad experience due to the theatre.
Staff admitting people back and forth in and out during the performance.
The show started at 7 and people were still being let in at 7.10, 7.15, 7.20, 7.30 and 7.40.
Every time the entrance door was opened there was a disturbing light coming through and overall it was very distracting.
People were allowed to go back and forth also during the performance.
Overall the show was enjoyable but the theatre not managed properly.
Staff and management of the venue unfit for the role.

We thought it was awful. I did dip into the TV show and could make neither head nor tail of it but - thought the stage show - with all the rave reviews as shown here - prove it must be good, great even and worth the £100 per seat. BUT only go if you have watched the TV show and like that kind of American high school / frat boy humour, this is a lot of the content. The scenes where cruelty to animals is supposed to be funny were excruciating, with very young children in the theatre - this worried me.
I couldn't work why middle aged people like us were enthralled and laughing at this. Still that's life. We left in the interval.

The best thing I have ever seen on a theatre stage anywhere. Ever.

One of the best theatre productions I’ve seen. The effects & casting was fantastic. If you are a fan of the show you’ll love this! Highly recommend

The story line, the special effects, the set but most importantly the cast. Every single aspect of this show I outstanding. Highly highly recommend. You will not regret seeing this show. We were row O four from the back and could see everything on stage. Good prices tickets.
For any theater or stranger things lover this is a must see!!

The long-awaited performance The First Shadow, written by Kate Trefry, opened at The Phoenix Theatre last December in London, and has become a huge sensation ever since. As a prequel to the Netflix series Stranger Things (written by the Duffer Brothers), TFS subsequently holds many references to its predecessor, such as imagery, music, and typeface that longtime fans will find very familiar. The elements of sci-fi and horror are still very present, and are a big part of what makes this franchise so enticing. However, while Stranger Things follows a group of intrepid kids in 1983, this play instead takes place in 1959 and follows a group of intrepid teenagers. Things go awry when animals start exploding, and this kicks off the plot. It is, essentially, another supernatural mystery to solve. So while TFS was not written by the original creators of Stranger Things, it still remains faithful to the style and form of the original show.
In the play, we get to meet characters from the original show that we've grown to love, navigating a different period of their lives. In this decade, they are not adults yet but mere teenagers, dressed in costume designs modelled after the late 50s. Two characters I especially loved were Joyce Maldonado (Isabella Pappas) and Henry Creel (Louis McCartney), who I thought were brilliantly executed and completely believable. Joyce’s actress managed to display the fiery passion and strong sense of justice, which are both very prominent characteristics of Joyce from the TV show, as well as her avid desire for the truth. Henry’s actor similarly puts on an excellent performance, retaining Henry’s unnerving and sinister energy, whilst also clearly expressing his adolescent anxieties and his wish to be able to fit in with other teenagers. He truly stole every moment he was on the stage.
TFS was a spectacular and unique experience, involving many theatrical techniques that I had never seen put to stage before. The lighting and stage design were aesthetically appealing, and helped to enhance the energetic performance. Some of the visual elements were so unbelievable, I am still not certain how they were achieved. For instance, Henry’s actor was often on stage with a duplicate that looked exactly like him, and I wholeheartedly believe it was somehow the exact same actor. The play was so intense and overwhelming, I was (quite literally) sat on the edge of my seat several times, adamant not to miss a single detail. The constant and dramatic set changes transported us to different places in the blink of an eye. The script writing, similarly to Stranger Things, was not necessarily supposed to be complicated, but invigorating, and I think they pulled it off with flying colours. It offered several instances of quick wit and well executed humour, which were expertly blended with the more sentimental scenes.
Going into this performance, I was ready to be critical. And of course, due to being a contribution of an existing franchise, the play contained a few instances of shortcomings and retcons. But as an avid Stranger Things fan, my thirst has still been quenched. TFS still has undeniable value. It adds to the story we already knew in such a creative and fun way, with an entertainment value and strong immersion that are on the next level. I think it truly captures what made the original TV show so special. However, having zero context on Stranger Things will not take away from the experience. The play stands just as well on its own. From the very first set to the closing scene, there was not a single boring moment. All in all, The First Shadow is an experience worth having. It is a must-see if you like Stranger Things, if you like theatre, and especially if you like both.

Superb acting and special effects. A truly excellent experience that my whole family intensely enjoyed including members who had never seen the series.

The show was great. It is a well written, fully immersive from the start. The perfect compliment to the series.

- The cast were brilliant, making the characters truly believable.
- Stage/set design was dynamic, utilising height and depth to great effect.
- The effects where truely amazing. A great mix of pyrotechnics, fog, lighting and projections.

There was only one downside, something i think (i hope) was unintentional. The auditorium ceiling lights above us (we were in the stalls) was left on during the second part. Unfortunately, this did kill some of the immersion for me and my wife as the show really benefits from the play between light and dark. Such a shame.

However, without this issue, this show is truely worth a watch.

Where do I start, the show was absolutely mind-blowing. An immersive visual sensation and the casting was perfect, we were lucky enough to be able to see the expressions on the faces of actors and the mannerisms and personality quirks were spot on to the tv shows cast. They put their all into the performance and I immediately wanted to watch it again. The illness of Isabella Pappas just before interval was handled seamlessly (I hope she was ok, she was outstanding). Honestly not seen a better play, yes I'm a stranger things fan but this deserves it's own accolade, the whole theatre gave a standing ovation.

The show is amazing. The story and actors were brilliant. Only point of issue is the seating. If you are seated in the stalls your view will be blocked which can be very frustrating (especially as the plot is really captivating!). Overall a brilliant show and really recommended.

An absolute brilliant stage production. The best show l have seen. The special effects were fantastic. The acting, especially the character Henry Creel was superb. The show got a standing ovation and rightly deserved. Highly recommend

This is by far one of the best performances we have ever seen! The performers, production, special effects - everything was executed so well. We didn’t book the ‘best’ seats which we was advised upon booking that there would be obstruction of hand rail and lighting - Grand Circle Row A 25-28 however we was pleasantly surprised, they were not that bad at all.
Overall if you are a stranger things fan, you need to see this show! Everyone is so talented and I have never seen an audience go as wild as they did for this show! A must see!

My daughter and I loved the show and the staff was helpful and friendly very nice theatre

Amazing production, acting, theatre