Steve Coogan to star in Dr Strangelove stage adaptation in the West End

Steve Coogan is to star in the premiere stage adaptation of Stanley Kubrick’s iconic film Dr Strangelove in the West End.

Armando Iannucci is to adapt the movie for the stage while Sean Foley is to direct the production, opening 8 October 2024 at the Noël Coward Theatre, running to 21 December 2024. Tickets go on sale from 27 September.

Dr Strangelove, fully titled Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, is an apocalyptical dark comedy released in the 1960s about a United States Air Force general who orders a nuclear strike on the Soviet Union and the attempts to stop a nuclear winter.

Steve Coogan said: “The idea of putting Dr Strangelove on stage is daunting. A huge responsibility. It’s also an exciting challenge, an opportunity to bring this timeless classic to a new audience. Knowing that I will be part of a creative team led by Sean Foley and Armando Iannucci means I will be working with the best people.

“Sean is a master of stage comedy and Armando and I started working with each other over 30 years ago. We made some memorable comedy together so it’s great to be collaborating with him once again.”

Full casting and creatives are to be announced.

Armando Iannucci added: “It’s a tale of our time and it needs one of the most amazing talents of our time to tell it: I’ve seen Steve Coogan close-up for many years now, and can tell you that no-one gets right under the skin of a character the way he does. There’s a total focus on how each character would speak and move and even think, added to which is an instinctive comic timing and dramatic charisma that’s second to none.

“He’s able to get huge audiences to connect with the vulnerabilities and fine details of each character he brings to life. We’re all so delighted he’ll be bringing these amazing gifts to the stage for the hugely contrasting roles in Dr Strangelove and I for one can’t wait to see Steve make them his own. It’s going to be a thrill for all of us.”

The new show has been endorsed by Kubrick’s widow Christiane who said previously: “We have always been reluctant to let anyone adapt any of Stanley’s work, and we never have. It was so important to him that it wasn’t changed from how he finished it.

“But we could not resist authorising this project: the time is right; the people doing it are fantastic; and Strangelove should be brought to a new and younger audience. I am sure Stanley would have approved it too.”

For more information, visit drstrangelove.com