Stranger Things: The First Shadow is an amazing theatre show. With a captivating plot and superb special effects, it’s one of the best plays I’ve ever seen. Here’s my Stranger Things: The First Shadow theatre review.
Overview and Plot Synopsis of Stranger Things: The First Shadow
Stranger Things: The First Shadow is a theatre show that acts as a prequel to the popular Netflix series. My Stranger Things: The First Shadow theatre review will first discuss the plot of the theatre show – so be warned there will be some plot spoilers! But sometimes it’s better to know a bit about the plot before seeing a show – and there’s still so much to enjoy in the show even if you’re aware of the plot.
Do I need to have seen Stranger Things on Netflix to watch Stranger Things: The First Shadow?
It’s not essential to know the Netflix series well to enjoy Stranger Things: The First Shadow. The theatre show is a complete story on its own. So if you haven’t ever watched Stranger Things on Netflix, you’d still be able to follow the stage show and enjoy most aspects of it.
However, being familiar with Stranger Things on Netflix will definitely add more to your experience of the show. The theatre show features some characters from the Netflix show. It shows Joyce, Jim and Bob (who we see in the Netflix show as adults/parents) as teenagers. So knowing these characters as adults will add to your enjoyment of seeing them as teenagers. And Stranger Things: The First Shadow tells the story of Henry Creel – who becomes one of the main villains of Stranger Things. So it helps to be aware of the monster that he becomes in the Netflix show There are other key moments in the show as well, such as the arrival of Dr Brenner at the end of Act 1, or Henry meeting Eleven at the end of the show. If you hadn’t seen the Netflix show, then you wouldn’t understand the gasp from the audience at these big moments.
Stranger Things: The First Shadow ties in well with Series 4 of the Netflix show. In Series 4, we get to know Henry Creel and the monster called Vecna. And the theatre show tells us more about the back story of Henry Creel and how he became the leading monster in the ‘Upside Down’. So while it’s not essential to have a good knowledge of the Netflix show before seeing this at the theatre, you’ll get more from the theatre show if you’re already a fan of the Netflix series.
Plot synopsis of Stranger Things: The First Shadow
Prologue
Stranger Things: The First Shadow starts with a prologue, with a scene from 1943. A Navy ship in World War Two is part of an experiment to try to become invisible, so it can be undetectable to the Germans. However, the ship is accidentally transported to the ‘Upside Down’, and all of the crew are killed.
Act 1
The show then cuts to Hawkins in 1959. We meet teenage versions of some of the adults in the Netflix show. Jim Hopper struggles with his rebellious streak, Joyce Maldonado dreams of escaping small-town life, and Bob Newby tinkers with his radio show. Their lives are ordinary at school – until the arrival of Henry Creel and his family. Henry Creel’s family have moved to Hawkins for a fresh start.
Henry is a troubled teen with psychokinetic abilities. He struggles to fit in at Hawkins High School. But then he starts to get to know Patty Newby. Patty was adopted by the Hawkins headmaster, so she is now Bob’s adoptive sister. Henry and Patty start to get to know each other better after they are both cast in the play that Joyce is directing at the school. They develop a romantic relationship, and Henry uses his powers to help Patty have visions of her real mother.
However, Henry’s powers start to grow stronger, and he becomes more connected to a sinister alternate dimension. He starts attacking and killing animals in Hawkins. Joyce, Jim and Bob team up to investigate the source of these animal killings.
Henry’s powers grow, and he is visited by visions of the monster. He is afraid he is going to hurt Patty, despite her reassurances that he can use his powers for good. He ends up attacking Patty’s father, the headmaster, leaving him blinded in hospital.
Henry’s mother ends up confiding in a doctor about Henry’s issues. Dr Brenner enters – the doctor who we know becomes ‘Papa’ in the Netflix show.
Act 2
Dr Brenner takes Henry to the Hawkins National Laboratory. Dr Brenner explains that his father was the sole survivor of the Navy ship that accidentally visited Dimension X in World War Two. His father told Dr Brenner about this world before he died. Dr Brenner has since dedicated his life to finding this alternate dimension. He explains that Henry has these powers because of something he found in a cave when he was a child – it was some technology that one of the laboratory scientists had stolen. Henry’s exposure to it caused him to have a unique blood type, and a connection to this alternate dimension.
Dr Brenner tries to train Henry to kill. However, Henry resists, and Dr Brenner realises it’s because of Henry’s attachment to Patty that he cannot kill. Dr Brenner vows to kill Patty so he can access Henry’s full powers.
Henry goes home, but he realises that his mother does not want him there and wants him to go back to Dr Brenner. Henry kills his mother and his younger sister. He then goes to the High School, during the production of Joyce’s play, to try to save Patty. There’ Henry battles with the shadowy monster in his mind as he tries to fight Dr Brenner and save Patty, despite the monster telling him to kill Patty. In the end, the evil in Henry wins, and Henry ends up throwing Patty off the rafters of the roof. And Dr Brenner takes Henry back to the laboratory.
Epilogue
In the epilogue, Henry is at the laboratory with Dr Brenner. He uses his powers to see Patty, and sees that she survived and went to find her birth mother after Henry had helped her discover who she was. In the laboratory, Dr Brenner informs Henry that the blood transfusions to the children have been successful. And Henry introduces himself to one of the children – called Eleven.
What I liked about Stranger Things: The First Shadow
I really loved Stranger Things: The First Shadow. It’s honestly one of the best plays I’ve ever seen on stage. The plot was captivating from start to finish. The entire show is about 3 hours long, which for some plays would feel a long time. But in this show, it didn’t feel too long at all. I was captivated until the end, and wanted the show to keep going. There was a huge amount of suspense throughout the show, as the story built.
Special effects and the Netflix show’s music
The biggest highlight of Stranger Things: The First Shadow is the special effects on stage. The show opens with an amazing scene, featuring a Navy ship in World War Two. The special effects in this scene are amazing, and it’s a brilliant opening scene. Right from the first five minutes, you just know that this show is going to be amazing.
This opening scene then cuts to the opening credits music from the Netflix show. This music really adds to the atmosphere. It feels like an episode of the TV show, where you’ve just been hit with an exciting scene and then you get the music. The music is full of suspense as it builds. It just makes the atmosphere so exciting, and feels instantly like you’re in the world of Stranger Things.
There are so many other special effects in the show that are great as well. A few times, a Demogorgon appears at the side of the stage. And Henry’s killings are gruesome – even more so on stage than on the Netflix show. It starts with the cat, and then later in the show his mother and sister. It’s so impressive how they capture the grotesque nature of these killings on stage – when the victim floats into the air, and have their limbs contorted and broken.
Projections and set
The use of projections in the show is amazing as well. There are projections at the back of the stage, which are great. Some of my favourites were the red fire of the ‘Upside Down’ world. But there are also projections in front of the actors as well. At some points, a red beam would come down the stage, with a projection screen in front of the actors. And then there would be projections in front of the actors, such as the falling ‘snow’ in the upside down. Or there were also clouds of smoke from the monsters in the upside down, that the actor could interact with. It felt different for a show to use projections both in front and behind the actors – in so many shows, the projections are just at the back of the stage behind the actors. Having the projections in front added even more detail, and was just amazing.
There isn’t much set that stays on stage throughout the whole show. And this works really well. There are some scenes where the stage is completely empty, and there are just Joyce, Jim and Bob with torches. The empty, dark stage really adds to the scary atmosphere.
And there are other scenes where they bring on some set. We see Bob’s radio station at the school, and also some props for Joyce’s play rehearsals. And there are props that show Henry’s house. And the hospital set is great as well. It looks exactly like the hospital on the Netflix show, with a similar creepy vibe – especially when the brightly lit hospital room is surrounded by the dark black stage.
Characters and emotions
Although the scary and suspense-filled elements of this show were the highlights for me, there’s a lot more to this show than just a scary monster-story. The relationships between the characters in the show are also really important, and there’s a lot of emotion there.
I really enjoyed seeing Henry’s relationship with Patty develop. It was a great story, with character development. Henry arrives in Hawkins as a scared boy, show knows he’s different. However, as he connects more with Patty and gets a part in Joyce’s play, we see him try to become more of a ‘normal’ boy. He develops genuine feelings for Patty, and it’s really emotional to see how he tries to keep her safe and be more of a ‘normal’ teenager with her while he fights his inner demons.
There’s also a really emotional scene when we see Henry’s mother trying to deal with her son, and the awful things he’s doing. She tries to love her son, while also acknowledging that he’s becoming even more of a monster and is dangerous. There’s a really emotional scene where Henry’s mother contacts the doctor to take him away.
It’s also really nice to see a young version of Joyce, Jim and Bob in the stage show. Anyone who’s seen the Netflix show will know these characters well as adults. So it’s nice to see the start of their relationships when they were teenagers, knowing they get together as adults. The characters of Joyce, Jim and Bob were all really well-acted, and clearly recognisable in their characters and voices from the TV show. Most of the audience of Stranger Things: The First Shadow will be fans of the Netflix show, so it was nice that these characters felt familiar and true to the Netflix show.
What I wasn’t so sure about
I really loved Stranger Things: The First Shadow. There wasn’t much at all that I wasn’t sure about. I genuinely didn’t want it to end.
If I was being really critical, then maybe some of the scenes with Joyce and the other students rehearsing the play weren’t quite as interesting as the more suspense-ful and scary scenes. But overall it worked well. And in a way, these lighter scenes were needed. If the play was 100% scary/suspense scenes, then those scenes would lose their power. So having the more light-hearted play rehearsal scenes worked well.
There were a couple of songs/musical numbers as part of the play that Joyce and the other students are rehearsing. I love musicals so I didn’t mind this. But these musical numbers didn’t really add anything to the plot, and did feel a bit like they were just there as filler. And some audience (who obviously weren’t fans of musicals) were complaining afterwards about these songs. But I thought the songs were ok enough, and if you don’t like musicals they were easy to ignore and you could focus on the rest of the show.
Would I recommend Stranger Things: The First Shadow
My Stranger Things: The First Shadow theatre review is really positive. I would 100% recommend going to see this show. For any fans of the Netflix show, seeing Stranger Things: The First Shadow is going to be an amazing experience. And even if you haven’t seen the Netflix show, there’s a lot to enjoy. The special effects, staging, suspense, projections, characters and story were all amazing. It was a fantastic evening, and really felt like we’d been part of the Upside Down just for one evening.
Hope you enjoyed my Stranger Things: The First Shadow theatre review! Check out my other theatre reviews for more shows in the West End, across the UK and the world.
