Stephen Daldry triumphs again with this gruesome nerdgasm

THIS astonishing show turns normal expectations of theatre upside down. Director Stephen Daldry has taken the Duffer Brothers’ cult, Eighties-set Netlix sci-fi hit and magicked it into a spectacular, multimedia prequel, full of enough thrills, scares and knowing nods to please fans and the uninitiated in equal measure.

- Stranger Things

It’s comparable to the theatrical alchemy of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, but far more technically sophisticated, pushing monsters into the auditorium while a quintet of young lead actors keep things on a (mostly) human scale. A couple of unlikely plot twists shunt Kate Trefry’s bulging narrative past the three hour mark, but it scarcely matters. As a piece of total theatre, this is streets ahead of anything else.