Review Roundup: STRANGER THINGS: THE FIRST SHADOW Opens in London's West End

Stranger Things: The First Shadow, has opened at the Phoenix Theatre. Read the reviews!

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.

Photo Credit: Manuel Harlan

Alexander Cohen, BroadwayWorld: 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.

Houman Barekat, The New York Times: Directed by Stephen Daldry (“Billy Elliot: The Musical”; “The Crown”) and written by Kate Trefry and Jack Thorne in collaboration with the TV show’s creators, the Duffer brothers, the show runs at the Phoenix Theater, in London, through Aug. 25, 2024. It’s a gaudy, vertiginous fairground ride of a play, exactly what you’d expect from a show co-produced by Netflix: Cheap thrills, expensively made.

Neil Armstrong, BBC News: A show like this is artistically successful if it's enjoyable in its own right but also provides an authentic-feeling addition to the Stranger Things universe. It ticks both those boxes. On the night I attended, the audience cheered when the lights went down, applauded the prologue and the end of the first act and gave a standing ovation at the end. Does it advance our understanding of the human condition or illuminate any of the eternal verities? Probably not. But it is a great night out filled with thrills, gasps and laughs.

Luke Jones, The Daily Mail: Yes, it's Netflix milking a brand. Yes, it's the West End indulging in a screen favourite instead of promoting something new. But it's thrillingly done – magic and dramatic.

Arifa Akbar, The Guardian: It starts with those floating red letters and that electro-ethereal music. The intro creates the surreal effect of Netflix’s sci-fi juggernaut being brought to life as a stage-sized facsimile before our eyes. But the big surprise about this prequel to the TV series, about high-schoolers who tap into the dangerous world of the Upside Down, is that it is neither derivative nor an exercise in imitation. This is breathtaking theatre with its own arresting imagination.

Alice Saville, The Independent: With an opening scene that parks a hulking great Second World War battleship on stage, Stranger Things: The First Shadow wants to make one thing clear. This isn’t a quiet, quaint, self-consciously theatrical little play. It’s a massive all-out event calculated to thrill fans of the award-winning Netflix series with explosions, thrills, and jumpscares galore – plus a little taste of what’s coming in 2024’s fifth season of the show. But with writer Jack Thorne (Harry Potter and the Cursed Child) and director Stephen Daldry (Billy Elliot) on board, it’s also got a surprising level of proper theatre cred for anyone who doesn’t come to it intricately versed in Stranger Things lore.

Nick Curtis, The Standard: Equally, you can enjoy this immersive, overwhelming experience, which has a love for live performance at its very core, without having seen a second of the TV show. Daldry, the consummate showman of British culture, has done it again.

David Benedict, Variety: “We need something a little theatrical.” Boy, does excited Bob Newby (Christopher Buckley) get his wish. He’s trying to solve a staging problem in “The Dark of the Moon,” the school play he and the other kids are secretly putting on in Hawkins, Ind., in 1959. But audiences watching “Stranger Things: The First Shadow” will likely greet the line with a wry smile because immense, intense theatricality is there for all to see. Are the three plot-driven hours of virtuoso, state-of-the-art stagecraft always matched by sustained drama? Not quite. Does that matter? Not at all.

Johnny Oleksinski, New York Post: 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.

Dave Fargnoli, The Stage: The production has a strikingly cinematic aesthetic that seamlessly integrates video projections, live action and superbly achieved stage illusions. Groundbreaking work from visual effects designers Jamie Harrison, Chris Fisher and 59 Productions breathe life into the play’s unnatural world: otherworldly monsters pop up out of dark corners; wisps of animated smoke spiral into spectral shapes; flailing bodies are lifted into the air, tossed around and crushed by invisible forces.

Marianka Swain, London Theatre: At times, when we’re plunged into darkness, with only torch beams to guide us, it feels like a return to telling spooky tales around a campfire. Budding director Joyce also preaches the power of stories – and that becomes a key Hamlet-riffing plot point. This astounding show definitely feels like a new chapter in theatre. It’s out of this world.

Cheryl King, TickerTV: With its impressive execution and grand theatrical moments, “Stranger Things: The First Shadow” has all the makings of a major hit. Daldry’s skillful direction and the dedication of the entire production team have created a truly immersive experience for audiences. So, if you’re a fan of Stranger Things and crave a theatrical adventure that will leave you on the edge of your seat, this is the show for you.

Average Rating: 78.3%