Dr. Strangelove London Theatre Tickets: What you need to know about Armando Iannucci and Steve Coogan's play

The Scottish satirist is adapting the classic Stanley Kubrick film for the stage for the first time.

Scottish satirist Armando Iannucci is bringing Stanley Kubrick's classic film to the stage next year.

It's one of the most eagerly-anticipated West End plays of 2024 - BAFTA and Emmy Award winner Armando Iannucci and Olivier Award winner Sean Foley's take on black-comedy masterpiece Dr. Strangelove.

And the pair have pulled a major casting coup in announcing that Steve Coogan will be taking on the multiple roles made famous by Peter Sellers in Stanley Kubrick's 1964 classic fim.

Here's everything you need to know - including how to get tickets.

Where is Dr. Strangelove being staged?

The play is set to be performed at London's 872-capacity Noël Coward Theatre.

When is the play being staged?

Previews of Dr. Strangelove will start on Tuesday, October 8, 2024, and the play is set to run until December 21.

There will be performaces every night, Monday to Saturday, at 7.30pm and matinees at 2.30pm every Thursday and Saturday.

What is Dr. Strangelove about?

Dr. Strangelove, or to give it its full title 'Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb concerns an unhinged United States Air Force general - named Jack D. Ripper - who orders a pre-emptive nuclear attack on the Soviet Union. It separately follows the President of the United States, his advisors, the Joint Chiefs of Staff and a Royal Air Force exchange officer as they attempt to prevent the crew of a B-52 (following orders from the general) from bombing the Soviet Union and starting a nuclear war.

What has Steve Coogan said about the production?

Alan Partridge comedian Coogan, who will play multiple roles in the production, 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.”

What has Armando Iannucci said about Dr. Strangelove?

On BBC Radio 4’s Today programme Iannucci said: “In these sad times what better to cheer the nation up than a stage show about the end of the world. We started talking about this adaptation several years ago, but now with the war in Ukraine and the whole nuclear question, it just hasn’t gone away. I think a lot of our art is less about the past and more about the future.”

What has Sean Foley said about Dr. Strangelove?

Foley said: “The themes within it are perennially relevant: the climate catastrophe, the end of the world is somewhere in our consciousness all the time now. You have got to make it a proper piece of theatre, but you have to do the weird balance of giving people what they want if they know the original, but also for new people coming to it, it’s just a wonderful piece of work."

What have the relatives of Stanley Kubrick said about the adaptation?

Stanley Kubrick's widow, Christiane Kubrick, said: “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.”

Katharina Kubrick, the director’s stepdaughter,added: “I am thrilled that Dr Strangelove is being adapted for the stage. The subject matter of this film is particularly relevant again in our prevailing political climate. 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.”

How can I get tickets for Dr. Strangelove?

Tickets are now on sale for all performances here.

They are priced from £20 to £157.50.