Netflix have just released Behind The Curtain: Stranger Things The First Shadow, a documentary which goes behind the scenes at the Stranger Things The First Shadow at the Phoenix Theatre. It follows the show from the workshop stage through to opening night in the West End and it is fascinating!! It screens just before the Broadway production and is a wonderful marketing tool in getting bums on seats for Broadway.

For those who haven’t seen Strangers Things The First Shadow it is a prequel to the Netflix TV show. It takes the audience to Hawkins in the 50’s, 4 decades before the TV show is set. Fans of the TV show will meet familiar characters and see origin stories played out on stage in front of you, whilst retaining the tension that the Netflix show is so well known for.

The overwhelming story behind this documentary is that it shows just how many people it takes to put on a show and how much work it takes. I adore that whilst the actors in the show are part of the documentary they are not the sole focus and instead we met the writer, Kate Trefry and directors Stephen Daldry and Justin Martin, producer Sonia Friedman as well as a huge amount of the backstage team.

Director Jon Halperin goes into detail about how show is staged. We meet the team at the Workshop stage where we hear about how the stage show came into being and how Kate Trefry joined the team with a focus on the pressure that they face from the Duffer Brothers to keep the production on brand whilst not giving away spoilers from the TV series itself. We then move into the casting for the West End production where we meet Louis McCartney, Ella Karuna Williams, Chris Buckley, Oscar Lloyd, and Isabella Pappas who begin the process of putting their own stamp on these iconic characters.

The next stage is technical rehearsals. It is at this stage that to me the show really picks up steam. Having seen the production I know what a technical show this is and getting a glimpse of the backstage process is fascinating. There are points that I would love more detail – a lot of it does seem superficial but I’m aware that the theatre geek in me in hard to satisfy on this front!

The show then goes onto look at what happens during previews and how they change the show (at some points drastically) during the day before performing the show that evening. It looks at the pressure this puts everyone under from the actors to those responsible for the various areas backstage. Whilst a focus of the TV show is the illusions and special effects there is mentions of how small changes to the writing can effect everything from the actors learning the lines to the dressers having to alter their quick changes. The documentary sizzles with tension and pressure as Kate Trefry talks about her napping in the auditorium and the creative tram talk about cutting moments where the technical aspects simply aren’t working.

There are also fascinating insights from Sonia Friedman who speaks about how she can tell if they have won the audience over and apparently it is linked to the absence of coughing but equally as fascinating is the synergy between Netflix and the West End, how much give and take there can (or cannot be) for this production to succeed. Succeed the production does with its Olivier award win and it continuing to run in the West End.

Whilst this show may not satisfy either the theatre geeks like myself or true fans of the TV show it is still an interesting look into the production of Stranger Things The First Shadow and the interplay between Netflix and live theatre. At its heart however is a documentary which shines a light on live theatre and the work and talent that goes into it which can only ever be a good thing to highlight.

If you like this review of Behind the Curtain Stranger Things The First Shadow you might also like my thoughts on the Stranger Things show itself, the Wicked movie, Bonnie & Clyde filmed live on stage and Hamilton movie – do you know.