Hawkins is hitting the stage. A Stranger Things play titled Stranger Things: The First Shadow and set in Hawkins, 1959 — before the world turned upside down — opened on London’s West End on Dec. 14 at the Phoenix Theatre. Now extended to run until April 6, 2025, this prequel may just hold the key to what comes next…

Here’s everything you nerds need to know about this new dimension of the Stranger Things universe:

Are the Duffer brothers behind the new Stranger Things play?

Yup! The stage play is based on an original story by the Duffer brothers (the masterminds behind Stranger Things), Kate Trefry (a writer on Stranger Things) and Jack Thorne (who wrote the screenplay for 2022’s Enola Holmes 2, which stars Eleven herself, Millie Bobby Brown). The new play, written by Trefry, will be directed by Tony Award winner Stephen Daldry with co-direction by Justin Martin and produced by Netflix and Sonia Friedman Productions. The Duffer brothers act as creative producers, with 21 Laps Entertainment as associate producer.

“Expanding our world beyond the TV series is a thrilling experience, and collaborating with this incredible team, led by the inspiring Stephen Daldry, is a joyous process of discovery,” said Matt and Ross Duffer. “Bringing this new Stranger Things story to the stage, with live audiences, is a prospect that we find enormously exciting, and we are delighted that a city with such a rich theater culture as London will receive the world premiere of our new story. We can’t wait to share it with you.”  

Is the Stranger Things play canon to the Stranger Things universe, and is it a prequel to the TV show? 

Oh, absolutely. The new story is rooted in the mythology and world of Stranger Things. It just takes place in the past and serves as an origin story for the TV series we can’t get enough of, tying together then, now, and the future of Hawkins. Think of it this way:

Before the world turned upside down, the Creel Family arrived in the seemingly normal Midwestern town of Hawkins, Indiana, for a fresh start. The year was 1959.

Twenty-four years later, a boy vanishes into thin air. His close-knit group of friends and family search for answers and are pulled into a high-stakes and deadly series of events. Beneath the surface of their sleepy town lurks an extraordinary supernatural mystery, along with top-secret government experiments and a dangerous gateway that connects our world to a powerful yet sinister realm. What they discover will change Hawkins and possibly the world — forever.

As the end nears, let’s return to the beginning of the Stranger Things story and uncover the origins in the new original stage play — Stranger Things: The First Shadow. It may hold the key to the end…

Can I watch an official trailer for Stranger Things: The First Shadow? 

You sure can. Go on your own curiosity voyage into the Stranger Things play in the video above. And remember, if Henry Creel starts to get upset, please remind him that it’s not real. He’s normal…

What characters from the show will be in the Stranger Things play?

Stranger Things: The First Shadow features characters you know, love, and perhaps fear, like young Joyce Byers (Isabella Pappas), Jim Hopper (Oscar Lloyd), Bob Newby (Christopher Buckley) — and one Henry Creel (Louis McCartney). 

“We just never had the time in the show to explore Henry's backstory in that kind of depth,” Ross Duffer told Tudum at the show’s premiere on Dec. 14. “So the first idea was to explore Henry's backstory and then we realized he would be the same age as a teenage Joyce and Hopper and Bob, which is something we always wanted to do. We love the ’50s almost as much, if not more than the ’80s. So it was an excuse to do something in this time period and to explore what they were up to in high school.”

Meet the Cast of Stranger Things: The First Shadow

Dr. Brenner (Patrick Vaill), Victor (Michael Jibson) and Virginia Creel (Lauren Ward), Ted Wheeler (Gilles Gear) and Karen Childress (Mike and Nancy’s mother played by Florence Guy), Lonnie Byers (Will and Jonathan’s father played by Chase Brown), Charles Sinclair (Lucas and Erica’s father played by Ammar Duffus) and Sue Anderson (Lucas and Erica’s mother played by Kemi Awoderu), and Claudia Yount (Dustin’s mother played by Maisie Norma Seaton) also feature in the show. 

Can I see some photos from the show?

You sure can. Check out first look photos for Stranger Things: The First Shadow below. 

Can I see some photos from the premiere?

What is the plot of the Stranger Things play?

Read below for the play’s description that will only fuel your Stranger Things obsession.

Hawkins, 1959: a regular town with regular worries. Hopper’s car won’t start, Bob’s sister won’t take his radio show seriously and Joyce just wants to get out as soon as she can. When new student Henry Creel and his family arrive, they find a fresh start isn’t that 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 to the beginning of the end.

What’s the title of the play’s first act?

The first act title is “Chapter One: The Girl from Nowhere.”

How old are Hopper, Joyce, and Bob?

Hop, Joyce, and Bob are seniors, while Henry Creel is a freshman in Stranger Things: The First Shadow. The only support that Joyce really finds is with Bob and Hopper, and I think that that's why they have such a strong bond and a strong relationship that carries through later into the TV show,” Pappas told Tudum at the premiere. “I remember reading it for the first time and I was like, oh, thank God, that's what I would've wanted as a fan of the show too.”

Who is in the cast of the Stranger Things play?

You can read the full cast list for Stranger Things: The First Shadow here.

Who is joining the cast of the Stranger Things play on the West End?

As Stranger Things: The First Shadow approaches its first anniversary on the West End, some new actors will be joining the cast of the show starting Nov. 14, with full casting to be announced at a later date. 

“As we enter our second year, we are thrilled to have assembled an incredible cast with new and familiar faces to take us back to Hawkins 1959,” said Daldry and Martin. “We look forward to getting into the rehearsal room with them and exploring the characters anew.”

Meet the new actors moving to Hawkins below:

• Louis Healy plays Henry Creel. Healy’s theater credits include The Full Monty (UK tour, Noël Coward Theatre), and his television credits include Hotel Portofino (as series regular Billy Scanlon), The Pact (as series regular Adam), Ackley Bridge, Emmerdale (as recurring character Danny), Moving On, Vera, Scott & Bailey, and Hetty Feather; and for film, Sometimes Always Never.
• Callum Maxwell plays Bob Newby. Maxwell’s theater credits include Peter Pan (Gate Theatre), The Joyce (Glass Mask Theatre), Danti-Dan (Ireland tour), Oh, Brother (Dublin Fringe Festival, Bewleys Café Theatre, Viking Theatre), The Cloud Spotter (Bewley’s Café Theatre and tour), Philadelphia Here I Come! (Cork Opera House) and Rogue (Smock Alley Theatre). His film credits include Finnegan's Foursome.
• Miranda Mufema plays Patty Newby. Mufema’s theater credits include Romeo and Juliet (Brighton Festival) and Macbeth (York International Shakespeare Festival).
• Luke Mullins plays Dr. Brenner. Mullins’ theater credits include The Tempest 
  (Theatre Royal Bath), The Maids (HOME Manchester), Rosencrantz and 
  Guildenstern Are Dead (Old Vic). His theater work in Australia includes Waiting for Godot (Sydney Theatre Company; Helpmann Award for Best Supporting Actor, Barbican), The Glass Managerie, Angels in America (Belvoir St Theatre), The Wars of the Roses, Gallipoli, Little Mercy, Long Day’s Journey into Night (Sydney Theatre Company), Endgame, The History Boys, Cloud 9 (Melbourne Theatre Company), Night on a Bald Mountain, Autobiography of Red (Malthouse Theatre), Season at Sarsaparilla (Sydney Theatre Company, Melbourn Theatre Company; Green Room Award), Mishima In the City: Duets of Desire (Liminal Theatre), and The Eisteddfod (New York Fringe Festival). His television credits include Gold Diggers, Darby and Joan, Joe vs Carole, Life, The Spanish Princess and In Our Blood; and in film, Riot and Holding the Man.
• Jessica Rhodes plays Joyce Maldonado. Rhodes’ stage credits include The Tempest (Royal Shakespeare Theatre), Doubt; a Parable (Chichester Festival Theatre) and The Sugar Syndrome (Orange Tree Theatre). Her television credits include Finders Keepers; and infilm, Artemis Fowl.
• George Smale plays James Hopper Jr. Smale’s theatre credits include AS-NT (Theatre 503), Honest Poverty (Finborough Theatre) and Princess Mononoke (New Diorama Theatre). His television credits include Slow Horses and Masters of the Air.

Who is Patty Newby?

Patty Newby is Bob’s sister in Stranger Things: The First Shadow. You’ll also meet some other characters that our heroes already know, like Chief Hopper (our Hopper’s father played by Shane Attwooll), Principal Newby (Bob’s father played by Matthew Pidgeon), Alan Munson (Eddie’s father played by Max Harwood), and Walter Henderson (Dustin’s father played by Calum Ross).

Where can I see the Stranger Things play?

Stranger Things: The First Shadow is playing at the Phoenix Theatre on London’s West End now.

Is the Stranger Things play coming to Broadway?

Yes! Starting Spring 2025, you can see Stranger Things: The First Shadow on Broadway at the Marquis Theatre in New York City. Learn more about when tickets will become available here.

Is Jamie Campbell Bower in Stranger Things: The First Shadow?

He’s not, but the Vecna actor did stop by a preview of the stage show and took a photo with Louis McCartney, who plays Young Henry Creel. “It's like Jamie's given me his baby and he's asked me to nurture it and see what I can do with it,” McCartney told Tudum at the premiere. “And, man, when he came on stage, he was in tears and he was really, really pleased with it. Jamie's a fabulous guy. He's a great actor, but he's a really genuine guy and he was just very supportive and it was a sigh of relief. It was like my feet had got settled and then I was like, okay, I'm on the right track and let's see what else I can do.”

Have any of the Stranger Things cast seen the The First Shadow?

Yup! While Bower attended a preview of the play, David Harbour (who plays Jim Hopper in the series), Matthew Modine (who plays Dr. Brenner), Cara Buono (who plays Karen Wheeler) went to the premiere on the West End. Sadie Sink (who plays Max Mayfield), Joe Keery (who plays Steve Harrington), Finn Wolfhard (who plays Mike Wheeler), and Caleb McLaughlin (who plays Lucas Sinclair) have also stopped by to see the show.

Has the Stranger Things play won any awards?

Yes. In April 2024, Stranger Things: The First Shadow won the Olivier Award for Best New Entertainment or Comedy Play and for Best Set Design. The play also received the award for Best New Play at the 24th Annual WhatsOnStage Awards in February 2024. At the U.K. Critics’ Circle Theatre Awards, Stranger Things: The First Shadow won the award for Best Set Design and Louis McCartney took home the accolade for Most Promising Newcomer. 

Where can you buy tickets to the Stranger Things play?

Tickets are on sale now at strangerthingsonstage.com, and be sure to follow these accounts on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and Twitter for further ticket information, on-sale details, and more. 

And while you plan your trip to London and wait for Season 5, you may as well give Season 4 another rewatch, and see if you and your party can uncover any hidden meanings to the Easter eggs in the key art below. Tick, tock.

With reporting by Lucy Ford.