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A stage adaptation of Suzanne Collins’s dystopian YA classic The Hunger Games has felt like the white whale of the British theatre industry for a decade now.
Ten years ago it was announced that a musical adaption of the first instalment of the adventures of Katniss Everdeen et al would be staged at a bespoke revolving theatre in Wembley Park in 2016. That simply never happened, and a 2023 announcement of a (non-musical) stage play written by the great Conor McPherson and directed by Matthew Dunster had been looking dangerously like going the same way - with no venue and no dates initially announced, it drifted past its projected 2024 opening without a squeak.
But happy day: it would finally appear to be happening. Dubbed The Hunger Games: On Stage, McPherson’s adaptation is now due to open at the brand new Troubadour Canary Wharf Theatre in October. In what may or may not be a coincidence, the 1,200-seater will be a sister venue to Troubadour Wembley Park – the current home of Starlight Express – which is the venue that emerged in lieu of the originally planned revolving Hunger Games theatre.
Anyway, enough background: it’s on, it’s scheduled to start its run on Monday October 20, and we’re told the spacious new theatre will have an in-the-round set up (that is to say, the stage will be in the centre of the audience). Beyond that we don’t know a huge amount more than we did two years ago – there is no word on casting yet, though as The Hunger Games is substantially a story about teenagers you’d imagine the core cast to be young up-and-comers rather than established names.
Will it be any good? McPherson is an excellent and idiosyncratic playwright, Dunster has a great pedigree in edgy commercial theatre, and the success of Stranger Things: First Shadow, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child and the anticipation around the upcoming Game of Thrones play The Iron Throne suggests there has never been a better time to adapt your blockbuster fantasy franchise for the stage. Unlike those shows, The Hunger Games: On Stage would appear to be a straight-up adaptation of the original novel rather than a sequel or prequel – which probably makes it a safer bet to a degree, though will inevitably invite comparisons to the films. But you can probably expect something rather darker and grungier. You’ll be able to find out soon!
The next date for your diaries is Thursday March 27, when tickets go on general sale, although if you sign up for the pre-sale you should be able to get in earlier (though one assumes there will be lots of tickets available for what sounds like an open-ended run.
The Hunger Games: On Stage is at the Troubadour Canary Wharf Theatre from Oct 20.
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