The first-ever live stage adaptation of Suzanne Collins' acclaimed novel The Hunger Games will debut on London's West End in fall 2024.
As reported by Deadline, Olivier Award-winning playwright Conor McPherson is adapting the first novel in Collins' dystopian series and the subsequent 2012 blockbuster film into a live theatrical production directed by Matthew Dunster, whose recent plays include 2:22 – A Ghost Story, Hangmen, and The Pillowman.
"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," Collins shared in a statement.
The creative team behind the stage production comprises set designer Miriam Buether; costume designer Moi Tran; choreographer Charlotte Broom; lighting designer Lucy Carter; sound designer Ian Dickinson for Autograph; video designer Tal Rosner; fight director Kev McCurdy; casting director Amy Ball; production manager Gary Beestone; and performer flying by John Maddox for Suspended Illusions.
Playwright McPherson, whose stage shows include Girl From the North Country and The Seafarer, called it "humbling and inspiring" to receive Collins' blessing to adapt The Hunger Games for the stage, noting that the story and its themes "continues to resonate" with audiences, perhaps "now more than ever" before.
"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," McPherson asserted. "This is turbo-charged storytelling of the highest order, and I'm hugely excited to bring it to a new generation of theatregoers and to Suzanne Collins' longstanding and devoted fans."
Collins penned the worldwide-bestselling trilogy of novels centred around teen protagonist Katniss Everdeen, which were adapted for the screen and starred Jennifer Lawrence, as well as a fourth book, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, which serves as a prequel to the original series and is also getting a film adaptation.
The first book follows Katniss into the 74th Hunger Games as she volunteers to participate in the annual televised battle royale against other District dwellers in place of her younger sister. The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes takes place 60 years prior, telling the story of Lucy Gray Baird, the first tribute from District 12.
Lionsgate's latest installment of the film franchise, starring Tom Blyth and Rachel Zegler, will premiere in cinemas on November 17.
Adele Ankers-Range is a freelance entertainment writer for IGN. You can follow her on X @AdeleAnkers.
