Stanley Kubrick’s ‘Dr Strangelove’ to be adapted for the stage by Armando Iannucci
Armando Iannucci, known for helming projects such as The Thick of It and The Death of Stalin, alongside co-creating the character of Alan Partridge, will be adapting Stanley Kubrick‘s Dr Strangelove for the theatre.
The politically-charged comedy was released in 1964, but Iannucci believes that it is still as relevant as ever. “As a story, weirdly it hasn’t gone away,” he told BBC News. “It seems the right time to remind people of the mad logic behind these dangerous games that superpowers play.”
Kubrick’s widow, Christiane, explained: “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.”
Adding: “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.”
The director’s daughter, Katharina Kubrick, continued: “People often laugh when they would rather cry, and this is exactly how the film, and now the play, handles the possibility of the ultimate destruction of life on Earth; certainly, an important topic amongst many, to concentrate the mind.”
Iannucci reflected on the play’s relevance, stating, “Not just with the war in Ukraine, but also the whole apocalyptic sense of global warming and so on – it feels like a very relevant reassertion of the message that, this is the madness staring at us if we don’t do anything about it. […] But if you can leave the theatre with that message and a smile, then all the better.”
The project is being co-written and directed by Sean Foley, with the pair choosing to keep the play set in the 1960s. “It’s got one foot in the 60s and one foot in the present day,” claims Iannucci.
“Also, in the last three years, we’ve been so enclosed in our homes because of the lockdown, and have got addicted to our screens, so actually going out and seeing something live and in the flesh is all the more exciting. That’s what excites me about actually doing it as a live stage show.”
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