The chills of The Reaping, the apprehension of the Tribute Parade, the atmosphere of The Bloodbath; these genre-defining scenes from Hunger Games are being adapted for stage by a stellar team for the first-ever live adaptation of Suzanne Collins' best-selling dystopian novel.
The new play, which will be premiering in London in Autumn 2024, will be written by Olivier Award-wining playwright Conor McPherson (The Night Alive, The Veil) and will be directed by Matthew Dunster, the director of 2:22 - A Ghost Story, Hangmen and The Pillowman.
"To receive Suzanne Collins’ blessing to adapt The Hunger Games for the stage is both humbling and inspiring," said McPherson. "She has created a classic story which continues to resonate now more than ever. In a world where the truth itself seems increasingly up for grabs, The Hunger Games beautifully expresses values of resilience, self-reliance and independent moral inquiry for younger people especially."
It's been over a decade since the first film adaptation of Collins' 2008 novel landed on our screens. In the film, Jennifer Lawrence starred as Katniss Everdeen, a young woman in a dystopian future who stands in for her sister in a high profile televised game in which contestants fight each other to the death. Fighting against 23 other 'tributes', Katniss is forced to harness her every skill, using cunning and collaboration to destroy the other competitors in order to survive.
After its publication, Collins' book sat on the New York Times Best Seller list for more than 100 consecutive weeks and sold more than 17.5 million copies. It followed, then, that the 2012 film would become a blockbuster hit. It made nearly $700 million off a $78 million budget and spawned four subsequent films (the most recent of which will be released this coming November) which together raked in a grand total of $2.97 billion at the Box Office.
“This might be the most exciting work call I’ve ever had," said Dunster. "As soon as the producers said the title, I just said ‘Stop! I’m in’. I loved the Lionsgate film and the brutal and emotional power of this dystopian classic. And then to add one of our greatest living playwrights, Conor McPherson, and experience him honouring the voice of Katniss Everdeen so rigorously has been a great privilege. This is theatre."
Described by The New York Times as "the finest playwright of his generation", McPherson has written dozens of plays including The Seafarer (National Theatre & Broadway), Shining City (Royal Court & Broadway), The Night Alive (Donmar & Off Broadway) Port Authority (West End & Off Broadway) and St Nicholas (Bush theatre & Off Broadway). Three-time Olivier-award nominated Dunster has written or directed over sixty plays, and has worked as the Associate Director of both The Young Vic and Shakespeare's Globe.
The outstanding duo will be joined by a world-class creative team including Miriam Buether (To Kill a Mockingbird, Three Tall Women) who is designing the set, Moi Tran (Worth, A View from the Bridge) who is designing the costumes, and Charlotte Broom (The Offing, The Taxidermist's Daughter) who is choreographing the show.
Collins said: "I’m very excited to be collaborating with the amazing team of Conor McPherson and Matthew Dunster as they bring their dynamic and innovative interpretation of ‘The Hunger Games’ to the London stage.”
Hunger Games is by no means the first time in recent years that a major screen hit is being adapted for the stage: Netflix's Stranger Things series, Stanley Kubrick's 1964 sci-fi classic, Dr. Strangelove, and the fashion-drama The Devil Wears Prada are all being turned into shows which will be premiering in London over the next year.
