Dr. Strangelove
Noel Coward Theatre
- Opens: Tuesday, 8 October 2024 -
Booking until: Saturday, 21 December 2024
Dr. Strangelove description
Dr Strangelove – From Armando Iannucci and Sean Foley
Stanley Kubrick's Dr Strangelove has been turned into a stage production, and it’ll hit the West End in 2024 for a world premiere run. The 1964 film of the same name is widely considered one of the best comedy satires of all time, nominated for four Academy Awards and seven BAFTAs. You won’t forget Kubrick’s black comedy satire about a nuclear attack in a hurry.
This new stage production is the first ever adaptation of the film-maker’s work, created by two supremely talented people: the brilliant BAFTA and Emmy Award winner Armando Iannucci and the equally cool Olivier Award winner Sean Foley. Their collaboration is predicted to set the West End alight, so keep your eyes and ears open for announcements about the venue, the cast, and the rest of the creative team.
What's the story behind Dr Strangelove?
The movie Dr Strangelove was directed, co-written, and produced by Stanley Kubrick and starred one of the funniest men in the nation at the time, the awesomely silly Peter Sellers. He aced three roles, including the title character, in a story that satirises the Cold War and the horror of a potential nuclear conflict between the Soviet Union and the USA.
The plot was inspired by the 1958 thriller novel Red Alert by Peter George, who co-wrote the screenplay along with Kubrick and Terry Southern, the American novelist, essayist, screenwriter, and university lecturer famed for his unique satirical style.
The story follows an unhinged United States Air Force general who arranges a pre-emptive nuclear attack on the USSR. Tracking the US President, his advisors, the Joint Chiefs of Staff and a Royal Air Force exchange officer, you’ll watch, horrified, as they try to stop a B-52 bomber from dropping a nuke on the Soviet Union and starting a war.
The original film comes with a long and impressive list of accolades. It was ranked 26th in the 1998 American Film Institute list of best American movies. The year 2000 saw it at number three in the funniest American films list. It’s preserved in the United States Library of Congress top 25 films as ‘culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant’. Four Academy Award nominations included Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Actor for Peter Sellers. The 7 BAFTA Film Awards resulted in wins for Best Film From Any Source, Best British Film, and Best Art Direction (Black and White).
We’re fully expecting the same level of quality and creativity from the stage production.
About Dr Strangelove
This comedy masterpiece is as black as it gets. It’s also described as an ‘explosively funny satire of mutually assured destruction’, and it’s perfect for our times. As Katharina Kubrick, Kubrick's daughter, said: "The subject matter of this film is particularly relevant again in our prevailing political climate. People often laugh when they would rather cry, and this is exactly how the film, and now the play, handles the possibility of the ultimate destruction of life on earth; certainly, an important topic amongst many, to concentrate the mind."
Sean Foley agrees. In his words, "Stanley Kubrick’s ’nightmare comedy’ is a perennially relevant satire on world politics and how powerful men can be stupid enough to let us all die if it means they get to brag about it."
The cast, dates, theatre and creative team are yet to be announced, but one thing’s for sure – our good quality cheap theatre tickets for Dr Strangelove are going to sell like hot cakes.
Buy tickets for Dr Strangelove
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Starring
Steve Coogan
