The Hunger Games is headed to the stage.
A play based on Suzanne Collins’ hit 2008 young adult fantasy novel—and its 2012 film adaptation—is being planned for a stage premiere in London next year, Deadline reports.
Tony Award–nominated playwright Conor McPherson (Shining City, Girl From the North Country) is penning the adaptation, which will be based on the novel and the film, both blockbuster hits.
Collins’ novel, about a young woman in a dystopian North America who competes in a televised battle royale, was the first in a series of books; the most recent installment is a prequel, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. The first three books in the series were adapted into four films starring Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson; a movie based on Songbirds is scheduled to open in theaters next month.
McPherson’s adaptation will be directed by Matthew Dunster (Saturday Night and Sunday Morning, Hangmen), and is set to open in the fall of 2024.
“To receive Suzanne Collins’ blessing to adapt The Hunger Games for the stage is both humbling and inspiring,” McPherson said. “This is turbo-charged storytelling of the highest order and I’m hugely excited to bring it to a new generation of theatergoers and to Suzanne Collins’ longstanding and devoted fans.”
Michael Schaub is a contributing writer.
