For fans of the Netflix phenomenon – of which there are millions – the prospect of seeing Stranger Things on stage is definitely an intriguing one. How will they emulate the Upside Down in a theatre? Who will play our favourite characters? And most importantly, will the script ring true?
Speaking to Isabella Pappas, who plays a teenage Joyce Maldonado in the new West End show, our concerns have subsided. ‘I’ve always been a Stranger Things fan since I was younger,’ Pappas reveals. ‘I was the same age as the kids when they started so I got to grow up with them. I never expected that I’d get to play a young Winona Rider when I was younger, it’s amazing.'
Seven and a half years since the show first aired, Pappas can’t quite believe she’s become part of the Stranger Things family. On now at the Phoenix Theatre in London, Stranger Things: The First Shadow, offers a prequel story to the hit TV show and explores the younger lives of the adult characters, including Joyce (played on screen by Winona Ryder) and Jim Hopper (played on screen by David Harbour).
‘It’s about the nostalgia of the characters,’ says Pappas. ‘I think a huge element of it is kind of exploring who these people were and the roots of what makes them who they are. Especially with Joyce, because she’s such a complex character, it’s really interesting to see how intense that version of her is in high school.’
Fortunately for Pappas and the rest of the stage cast, there's an infinite amount of source material to draw from and four seasons of their characters’ future lives to revisit. ‘I basically just got given a handbook in terms of material that I can watch,' she admits.
‘I think that Joyce as a teenager is a mix of who she was in the TV series as an adult and a mix of who I was as a teenager,' Pappas continues, 'because I share a lot of similarities. I think we’re both quite obsessive and I can be manic sometimes, in terms of getting really fixated on something that I’m passionate about. And luckily, she’s the same.’
This is definitely a quality that Ryder has brought to the role since the show first started in 2016 – a role she is now only too glad to be sharing with Pappas. On the play's opening night in December, when Pappas was feeling her nerves the most, she received a well-timed bouquet of flowers and a letter from the Golden Globe-winning actress. ‘She said I’m really proud of you and I hope you have a great time bringing Joyce to life. I can’t wait to see what you do with the character when I come to see it,' Pappas recalls. 'So that was kind of all the confirmation I needed. I’m going to frame that letter.’
While the play and the series tackle different stories through different mediums, the essence of Stranger Things remains the same. This is largely to the credit of the exceptional team behind the stage production – including the show's creators Matt and Ross Duffer who act as creative producers, Sonia Friedman and Netflix working together as producers and Kate Trefry who provided the original story.
It’s therefore unsurprising that the show has been met with decisive reviews, with Time Out describing it as 'a gargantuan entertainment that goes beyond being a mere "play"'. And that hopes to bring a whole new generation of TV fans to the stage. Following in the footsteps of Harry Potter and The Cursed Child, this play follows a growing trend of successful TV and film franchises delving into the world of theatre.
‘You don’t technically have to have watched the TV series for the play to make sense, which I think is good,' Pappas confirms. 'I think it will bring a lot of people who maybe wouldn't have come to see a three-hour play in the West End, and introduces them to the world of like theatre. But then at the same time, there are a lot of theatre-goers who maybe wouldn't have seen Stranger Things, who might say, "now I'm going to start watching the TV series."
'It’s like a melting pot of a bunch of different people that are getting to kind of experience something that I don’t think has been seen on stage before.’ Pappas adds, ‘I don’t think I’ve seen anything like it in terms of scale, the amount of amazing illusions but also just the pace. It’s insane to be apart of, but it must also be kind of crazy to watch.’
She describes the play as a marriage between a 'live action psychological horror' and something 'beautifully written', which is, at its core, 'a very serious and heartwarming play'.
While there's no doubt the stage adaptation will encourage a new swathe of viewers to watch the series, it's primary audience is, of course, Stranger Things fans. Fans who eagerly anticipate the fifth and final season of the show, which started filming this month. So, are there any easter eggs in the play that tease what the Duffer brothers have planned for the show's finale? It's a firm yes from Pappas.
‘There are definitely a lot of easter eggs,' she says. 'It’s hard to get close without giving anything away, but you get to learn a lot about the origins of Henry Creel. You essentially het his entire origin story, why he is the way he is and how the universe sort of came to be. You also get to see how relationships were formed, in terms of how Hopper, Bob and Joyce first met and why their relationships progressed,' she reveals. 'It completely changes your perception of the parents in the town.’
Stranger Things: The First Shadow is on at the Phoenix Theatre in London now.
Nikki Peach is news and entertainment writer at Grazia UK, working across pop culture, TV and current affairs.