{"id":2146275,"date":"2025-11-10T11:06:08","date_gmt":"2025-11-10T11:06:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2146275"},"modified":"2025-11-10T11:06:08","modified_gmt":"2025-11-10T11:06:08","slug":"the-hunger-games-on-stage-in-london-feels-more-urgent-and-brutal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/the-hunger-games-on-stage-in-london-feels-more-urgent-and-brutal\/","title":{"rendered":"‘The Hunger Games’ on stage in London feels more urgent and brutal"},"content":{"rendered":"

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p]:text-cms-story-body-color-text clearfix”> <\/p>\n

LONDON \u2014 Since its release in 2008, the relevance of Suzanne Collins\u2019 dystopian novel \u201cThe Hunger Games\u201d has grown in magnitude. The story, about a dictatorial government that forces children to fight to the death as part of an annual spectacle, continues to inspire reimagining. The latest iteration is a dynamic live play, set to debut Wednesday at London\u2019s Troubadour Canary Wharf Theatre.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Hunger Games: On Stage\u201d is both an adaptation of Collins\u2019 novel, which has spawned two sequels and two prequels, and Lionsgate\u2019s 2012 film, starring Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen. The opportunity came up seven years ago when Tristan Baker, who produced the show alongside Oliver Royds, met with Lionsgate about another potential project. Baker began developing a stage version of \u201cHunger Games\u201d at the suggestion of Jenefer Brown, executive VP and head of global products and experiences for the studio. He\u2019d recently worked with Conor McPherson on \u201cGirl From the North Country,\u201d a fictional interpretation of Bob Dylan\u2019s song catalog, and thought the playwright might be interested. As it happened, McPherson\u2019s daughter was reading the novel.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile it might seem obvious to say, Suzanne Collins is a brilliant storyteller,\u201d McPherson said via email. \u201cWhen I read \u2018The Hunger Games,\u2019 like everyone else I was drawn to the compelling energy of her narrator\u2019s voice. She makes the momentum of Katniss\u2019 story seem effortless. I thought that if we could cleave to Suzanne\u2019s narrative drive, we could give the audience great pleasure.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The production maintains protagonist Katniss\u2019 narrative voice. <\/p>\n

(Johan Persson)<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n

Collins\u2019 novel is narrated by Katniss, which McPherson wanted to incorporate. \u201cIt\u2019s Katniss\u2019 story,\u201d he said. \u201cHer voice is a huge part of what makes \u2018The Hunger Games\u2019 so potent, so I wanted to let her continue to speak for herself.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe dystopian novels that stick in my mind are the ones where we\u2019re with somebody in a very singular way,\u201d director Matthew Dunster said in October, speaking around the corner from the still-being-finished Troubadour Canary Wharf Theatre. \u201cOur Katniss talks to our audience in the way that Katniss talks from the pages of the book.\u201d<\/p>\n

That also proved to be the most challenging element of the adaptation. \u201cI wanted the show to be supremely theatrical in the sense that we would always be inside this girl\u2019s psyche,\u201d McPherson said. \u201cThe show would spring from her imagination and the audience\u2019s imagination would engage with hers to complete the picture. I initially said to the producers that we should be able to tell this story using a table and four chairs.\u201d<\/p>\n

The final production is far grander. The producers built a new theater in Canary Wharf to house the play, which is currently set to run until October 2026. \u201cAt no point in that initial process did we say, \u2018We\u2019re going to build our own venue,\u2019 \u201d Baker said. \u201cIt was all about how you tell that story in a theatrical way.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\""The <\/picture>\n
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\u201cWe ended up designing the space around \u2018The Hunger Games,\u2019\u201d said producer Tristan Baker.<\/p>\n

(Johan Persson)<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n

Because the show involves wirework and understage lifts, it was easier to construct a custom space than it would have been to use an existing West End theater. \u201cIt became clear as we were talking with the team with Matthew and then designers that we could do it in the round and we could do some things that would blow people\u2019s minds,\u201d Baker said. \u201cSome of the seating banks move. We ended up designing the space around \u2018The Hunger Games.\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n

Troubadour Canary Wharf Theatre is constructed like an arena. Audience members buy seats in specific districts (District 12 is the stage) and some of the seating sections move at various points in the play, which reconfigures the space. It also impacts the emotional resonance of a scene.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s amazing to be able to start a scene between two people that\u2019s intimate and you feel, as an audience member, \u2018I\u2019m miles away from those people,\u2019 \u201d Dunster said. \u201cAnd then as those characters become more intimate, suddenly you\u2019re in a much more intimate relationship with them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Collins has since expanded the universe of Panem, most recently with \u201cSunrise on the Reaping,\u201d released in March. With her blessing, McPherson added details into the play that acknowledge information revealed in the newer novels. Some of the tributes who were unnamed in the original book now have names. There are a few scenes that are new for the play.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s lovely Easter eggs all the way through that you wouldn\u2019t have gotten from the first book or the first film,\u201d Baker said.<\/p>\n

Dunster had previously collaborated with Baker on \u201c2:22 \u2014 A Ghost Story.\u201d When Baker approached him to direct, Dunster\u2019s kids were also coincidentally reading \u201cThe Hunger Games.\u201d Once he picked up the novel himself, he found it undeniably timely. He wanted to approach it in a less traditional way than might be expected.<\/p>\n

\u201cI very quickly got the idea that if the young people that play the tributes were also pretty much playing everyone else, then you would fall in love with them as performers,\u201d Dunster said. \u201cThen the horror that is visited upon them would be even more devastating. Not least because we\u2019re talking about the destruction of young lives and the destruction of talent and the waste of the Hunger Games. I was interested and intrigued to see if we could find a form that made that even more profound.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\"Nathanael <\/picture>\n
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Nathanael Saleh and Kyerron Dixon-Bassey in rehearsal for \u201cThe Hunger Games: On Stage.\u201d The cast rehearsed for 10 weeks beginning in August before moving into the theater for technical rehearsals. <\/p>\n

(Danny Kaan)<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n

The creative team held a workshop with an ensemble cast, which includes some of the current actors, three years ago. When it came time to cast the lead roles earlier this year, Dunster used a \u201cspecific narrowing down process\u201d to find the right performers. They met with around 200 dancers and selected 50 for fighting workshops, eventually ending up with 10 possible actors for the chorus, including Mia Carragher, who plays Katniss. Collins and Lionsgate signed off on the final decisions.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was really difficult,\u201d Dunster said of selecting the right person to embody Katniss. \u201cThere are requirements that feel they are indicated by the book and the film. We looked very widely. I found it very hard at the beginning and my brilliant costume director said to me, \u2018Matthew, Jennifer Lawrence isn\u2019t going to walk through that door.\u2019 That freed me.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\"Two <\/picture>\n
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John Malkovich\u2019s scenes as President Snow were shot on camera.<\/p>\n

(Johan Persson)<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n

Only two of the actors, Carragher and Euan Garrett, who plays Peeta, have a single role. Everyone else plays multiple characters throughout the production, frequently changing costumes to ensure the world feels well-populated by citizens, gamemakers and tributes. In a clever bout of casting, John Malkovich plays President Snow. All of his scenes were shot on camera, which means he won\u2019t appear live in the theater.<\/p>\n

\u201cI asked if we could consider him,\u201d Dunster said. \u201cHe had just wrapped a movie with one of my friends who I work with a lot, Martin McDonagh. I\u2019m not sure what made him say yes, but he did it and he was a real professional and gentleman. We filmed him in one shooting, but took all of our cast with us so he was actually doing his scenes with our actors. This was a good way of him committing to a play without committing to it.\u201d<\/p>\n

The staging relies on large video screens and immersive effects. Sets come up through the floor and the cast flies through the air or climbs on the upper tiers of seats on wires. At one point, Carragher runs up a lighting rig. It\u2019s a technically involved show, but also one that requires a lot of stamina and fitness from its cast. The cast rehearsed for 10 weeks beginning in August before moving into the theater for technical rehearsals. Carragher took an archery course in addition to the group training.<\/p>\n

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\"Kiera <\/picture>\n
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Kiera Milward and Imogen Brooke rehearse a fight for \u201cThe Hunger Games: On Stage.\u201d<\/p>\n

(Danny Kaan)<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n

Choreographer Charlotte Broom, a longtime collaborator of Dunster\u2018s, came on board in 2023. She was part of the early workshops and wanted to ensure the staging expanded on what the film already did.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019re going to do something in a different sort of realm, you have to make it different,\u201d she said. \u201cYou really have to go for it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Broom worked with the cast to create visual moments that emphasized the significance of a scene, whether it\u2019s crafting the illusion of a character running a long distance on stage or embodying one of the terrifying mutts.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s theater choreography that is very heavily laid into the story,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd it has to work from every angle, including the seats at the top, which almost have an aerial view. The performers have been really invested and helped to solve problems and make things work.\u201d<\/p>\n

Although it\u2019s notably technical and physical, the emotions had to come first for the actors.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt can be incredibly hard multitasking on stage,\u201d Carragher said, speaking with Garrett from her dressing room. \u201cYou have to be so hyperaware. You have to make sure you\u2019re safe and that things are in place for the next scene.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are really intense scenes and meanwhile I\u2019m thinking, \u2018I can\u2019t let my knife fall off the cornucopia,\u2019 \u201d Garrett added. \u201cYou can be so in the moment and then you\u2019re suddenly clipping yourself into a harness and climbing onto something. Obviously safety is first, but it\u2019s really about trying to be safe and deliver an authentic performance.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\"Redmand <\/picture>\n
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Redmand Rance and Rory Toms in \u201cThe Hunger Games: On Stage.\u201d<\/p>\n

(Johan Persson)<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n

Carragher said, \u201cAnd that you\u2019re with the character. Every time we do a scene, I find out more about Katniss, like, \u2018She would do this\u2019 or \u2018She wouldn\u2019t do this.\u2019 I\u2019m probably Katniss more than I\u2019m Mia at the moment. It\u2019s been cool to see [the characters] evolve the more we\u2019re rehearsing and performing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ultimately, \u201cThe Hunger Games\u201d is a story about children dying. Although the youngest cast member is 18, the play doesn\u2019t pull any punches about its violent nature. Dunster thinks the play is even more brutal than the novel and the film and says that \u201cthe deaths and the dead are a very big part of our experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBased on the world that we find ourselves in, I\u2019ve just kept coming back to these same three words: Don\u2019t kill kids,\u201d he said. \u201cThere\u2019s a real responsibility right now to be making a show called \u2018The Hunger Games\u2019 when it seems people are being systematically starved to a point where they\u2019re desperate. That is literally happening in the world. Not with the glamour of a \u2018Hunger Games\u2019 spectacle, but the machinations of the state are the same. So that feels like a responsibility.\u201d<\/p>\n

The live aspect of theater augments that feeling of destructive loss.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t shy away from anything in the play,\u201d Carragher said. \u201cIt\u2019s not glamorized. The story is horrendous and you see it right in front of your eyes.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is a really sad story and quite a powerful story,\u201d Garrett added. \u201cKids are dying, and the audience has paid money to see a bloodbath. Maybe people can leave with a sense of \u2018Are we part of it? Are we doing enough? Are we not saying enough?\u2019 It\u2019s always been a powerful story \u2014 that\u2019s why Suzanne wrote it and that\u2019s why it\u2019s still going.\u201d<\/p>\n

Beyond its entertainment value, McPherson sees the play as both \u201ca reminder and a warning,\u201d like George Orwell\u2019s \u201c1984.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGiven the right circumstances, human beings can willingly, even joyfully, dominate and torture other human beings,\u201d he says. \u201cWhat \u2018The Hunger Games\u2019 also reflects about today is the complicity of media outlets as a propaganda tool. When dictators become celebrities and their atrocities become clickbait, they are almost beyond satire, which makes them especially dangerous.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n

\u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.latimes.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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