Stranger Things: The First Shadow
Dive back into the world of Stranger Things and discover the secrets of the Upside Down in this incredible new story, set before Eleven, before Vecna, and just before Henry Creel first arrived in town… Stranger Things: The First Shadow is co-created with the Duffer Brothers and promises a jaw-dropping theatrical experience full of surprises, revelations and clues to unlock the end of the Netflix super-hit. Be first in line to see Hawkins like never before at the Phoenix Theatre, in this world-premiere production.
FIND TICKETS
Booking until 6 April 2025
Box Office Contacts
| Box Office: | +44 (0) 844 871 7629 |
| Access Booking: | +44 (0) 800 912 6971 |
| Group Booking: | 020 7206 1174 |
| Stage Door: | 020 7438 9600 |
History
Originally opening in 1930, the Phoenix Theatre hosted a variety of plays, with its first ever play being the premiere of Noel Coward's Private Lives, starring Laurence Olivier. Further early productions included Tonight at 8:30 (1936), John Gielgud's Love for Love, Under the Counter (1945), The Skin of our Teeth (1945), Terence Rattigan's Harlequinade and The Browning Version (1948) and Quadrille (1952).
Throughout the 60's, the theatre saw plays such as Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales (1968), which ran for approximately 2,000 performances. In 1969, the theatre celebrated its long association with Noel Coward by renaming the foyer bar the Noel Coward Bar on his 70th Birthday.
Notable productions have included Tom Stoppard's Night and Day (1978), with a variety of musical productions throughout the 1980's and 90's, such as The Biograph Girl, Stephen Schwartz's The Baker's Wife and Stephen Sondheim's Into the Woods. In 1983, the Phoenix Theatre hosted its first ever pantomime, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
1991 saw the theatre make history with the enormous success of Willy Russell's musical Blood Brothers, which transferred over from the Noel Coward Theatre. Running for an impressive 21 years, the musical closed in 2012, making it the venue's longest-running production and one of the longest running productions in West End history.
Following the departure of Blood Brothers, the Phoenix hosted limited runs of Goodnight Mr Tom (2012), Midnight Tango (2013) and Dinosaur Zoo (2013), before becoming home to the Broadway transfer of Enda Walsh's musical Once (2013-2015).
In 2015, the Phoenix hosted the world premiere of new musical Bend it Like Beckham, based on the hit British film. After a successful year run, the production closed and was followed by the Savoy Theatre transfer of Guys and Dolls (2016), starring Hollywood favourite Rebel Wilson.
2016 productions have included Strictly Come Dancing duo Vincent Simone and Flavia Cacache's The Last Tango, with a one-month run of the Dirty Dancing tour and a season run of Peppa Pig's Surprise.
2017 kicked off with the London premiere of Gary Barlow and Tim Firth's new musical The Girls, based on the hit film Calendar Girls, which successfully ran at the venue until July 15th. Bill Kenwright's UK tour of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice musical Evita also landed at the Phoenix Theatre, starring Emma Hatton. The year rounded off with Bill Kenwright's new production of The Exorcist, which continued into 2018.
In 2018, Broadway musical Chicago came to the theatre, and featured many celebrity faces including Alexandra Burke and Duncan James before closing in January 2019.
Broadway musical Come From Away arrived at the Phoenix Theatre in 2019. The production won four Olivier Awards at the 2019 ceremony, including Best New Musical. It closed on 7 January 2023.
In 2023, Noises Off starring Felicity Kendal ran at the Phoenix Theatre for eight weeks, after an acclaimed season at Theatre Royal Bath, followed by a limited season transfer of the Almeida Theatre's A Streetcar Named Desire, starring Paul Mescal, Patsy Ferran and Anjana Vasan, and Idiots Assemble: Spitting Image The Musical in the summer.
In November 2023, a world premiere production of Stranger Things: The First Shadow, co-created by the Duffer Brothers, opens at the Phoenix Theatre.
Throughout the 60's, the theatre saw plays such as Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales (1968), which ran for approximately 2,000 performances. In 1969, the theatre celebrated its long association with Noel Coward by renaming the foyer bar the Noel Coward Bar on his 70th Birthday.
Notable productions have included Tom Stoppard's Night and Day (1978), with a variety of musical productions throughout the 1980's and 90's, such as The Biograph Girl, Stephen Schwartz's The Baker's Wife and Stephen Sondheim's Into the Woods. In 1983, the Phoenix Theatre hosted its first ever pantomime, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
1991 saw the theatre make history with the enormous success of Willy Russell's musical Blood Brothers, which transferred over from the Noel Coward Theatre. Running for an impressive 21 years, the musical closed in 2012, making it the venue's longest-running production and one of the longest running productions in West End history.
Following the departure of Blood Brothers, the Phoenix hosted limited runs of Goodnight Mr Tom (2012), Midnight Tango (2013) and Dinosaur Zoo (2013), before becoming home to the Broadway transfer of Enda Walsh's musical Once (2013-2015).
In 2015, the Phoenix hosted the world premiere of new musical Bend it Like Beckham, based on the hit British film. After a successful year run, the production closed and was followed by the Savoy Theatre transfer of Guys and Dolls (2016), starring Hollywood favourite Rebel Wilson.
2016 productions have included Strictly Come Dancing duo Vincent Simone and Flavia Cacache's The Last Tango, with a one-month run of the Dirty Dancing tour and a season run of Peppa Pig's Surprise.
2017 kicked off with the London premiere of Gary Barlow and Tim Firth's new musical The Girls, based on the hit film Calendar Girls, which successfully ran at the venue until July 15th. Bill Kenwright's UK tour of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice musical Evita also landed at the Phoenix Theatre, starring Emma Hatton. The year rounded off with Bill Kenwright's new production of The Exorcist, which continued into 2018.
In 2018, Broadway musical Chicago came to the theatre, and featured many celebrity faces including Alexandra Burke and Duncan James before closing in January 2019.
Broadway musical Come From Away arrived at the Phoenix Theatre in 2019. The production won four Olivier Awards at the 2019 ceremony, including Best New Musical. It closed on 7 January 2023.
In 2023, Noises Off starring Felicity Kendal ran at the Phoenix Theatre for eight weeks, after an acclaimed season at Theatre Royal Bath, followed by a limited season transfer of the Almeida Theatre's A Streetcar Named Desire, starring Paul Mescal, Patsy Ferran and Anjana Vasan, and Idiots Assemble: Spitting Image The Musical in the summer.
In November 2023, a world premiere production of Stranger Things: The First Shadow, co-created by the Duffer Brothers, opens at the Phoenix Theatre.
