Everything you need to know about 'The Hunger Games' on stage

The popular dystopian franchise is set to storm the stage at the brand-new Troubadour Canary Wharf Theatre this autumn.

The Hunger Games is the latest young adult blockbuster franchise to receive the stage treatment, about a decade after the project was first announced. It ought to be well worth the wait, as its the dream team of playwright Conor McPherson and director Matthew Dunster and will be staged in a new, state-of-the-art, purpose-built venue in Canary Wharf. No expense is being spared!

Suzanne Collins’s book series has captivated readers of all ages since the first instalment was published in 2008 (a new prequel has just been arrived), and the films starring Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Woody Harrelson, and Stanley Tucci, among others, are second only to Harry Potter as the most profitable franchise based on a young adult book series. The stage version is billed as “the first-ever theatre adaptation of Suzanne Collins’ internationally acclaimed book and Lionsgate’s motion-picture”, suggesting that the emphasis will be on the first book/film.

There are so many scenes that would be brilliant to witness in a theatrical setting, including the “reaping” at which the victims’ names are drawn at random, the tributes’ parade, and, of course, the fight scenes themselves. The steampunk-style aesthetic is also fantastically theatrical and there’s plenty of scope for inventive use of mixed media. May the odds be ever in your favour for getting tickets when they go on sale!

Check back for The Hunger Games tickets on LondonTheatre.co.uk.

What is The Hunger Games about?

The Hunger Games is set in the North American territory of Panem at an unspecified point in the future. Panem is ruled by a dictatorship and comprises a wealthy, decadent Capitol and 12 (originally 13) districts where the inhabitants live in varying levels of poverty. As a punishment for a past rebellion – and to entertain the ruling classes – every year, two “tributes”, a boy and a girl aged between 12 to 18 from each of the 12 districts, are chosen at random to compete in the annual “Hunger Games”, which involves a fight to the death with only one winner. The protagonist is the brave and resilient Katniss Everdeen, who was played by Jennifer Lawrence in the films.

What is the history of The Hunger Games book series?

The Hunger Games was created by Suzanne Collins, a former writer of children’s television shows including Clarissa Explains It All. The first instalment, The Hunger Games, was published in 2008. The sequels Catching Fire and Mockingjay followed in 2009 and 2010 respectively. A prequel The Ballad of Songs and Snakes was published in 2020, followed by the recent Sunrise on the Reaping. All titles have been published by Scholastic. The series has been praised by critics and fans for their outstanding world-building and fully realised characters. The books have sold over 100 million copies worldwide and have been translated into 52 languages.

What is the history of The Hunger Games film series?

Produced by Lionsgate, the first film was released in 2012, directed by Gary Ross and adapted by Suzanne Collins herself, with Ross and Billy Ray. The cast included Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Stanley Tucci, and Donald Sutherland. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire was released the following year, directed by Francis Lawrence (no relation to Jennifer) and The Hunger Games: Mockingjay was divided into two parts, released in 2014 and 2015, both also directed by Lawrence.

Prequel The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes was released in 2023 starring Tom Blyth and Rachel Zegler, soon to make her West End debut in Evita. A film version of the latest prequel Sunrise on the Reaping is due to be released in November 2026.

When is The Hunger Games stage adaptation being performed?

The Hunger Games is set to begin on 20 October 2025. Tickets aren’t on sale yet, so check back about performance days and timings.

Where is The Hunger Games being performed?

The Hunger Games will be performed at the Troubadour Canary Wharf Theatre, which is being purpose-built for the occasion. The venue plan shows an oval-shaped auditorium divided into 11 sections representing Districts 1 to 11 (there's notably no District 12...), with the stage (the Capitol?) in the middle.

It ought to be a truly immersive experience but hopefully the audience won’t be required to join in with the fighting! Canary Wharf is east London’s financial centre and has a futuristic vibe that’s perfectly suited to The Hunger Games' aesthetic. The Troubadour team certainly has form with designing venues that are perfectly suited to their shows, as Troubadour Wembley Park Theatre is home to the spectacular Starlight Express.

Who is in The Hunger Games creative team?

The Hunger Games is adapted by the stage by acclaimed Olivier Award-winning playwright Conor McPherson (read our profile of McPherson here). McPherson is probably best known for his modern classic The Weir and for the book for the Bob Dylan musical Girl from the North Country. His latest work The Brightening Air will soon be seen at the Old Vic. His plays, which are usually set in Ireland and deal with lonely individuals and dysfunctional families, tend to be characterised by the intimacy of their storytelling, so this kind of epic based on an existing franchise is an exciting new challenge.

The show is directed by Matthew Dunster, whose work features a trademark dark, gritty edge. Dunster has worked extensively at Shakespeare’s Globe, the Royal Court, the Young Vic, and more, and his commercial theatre credits include 2:22 A Ghost Story and The Pillowman. He will shortly direct Dealer’s Choice at the Donmar Warehouse. The production is designed by Miriam Buether (Stranger Things: The First Shadow), with choreography by Charlotte Broom, who most recently worked with Dunster on Oedipus in Tokyo. It will also be a fantastic opportunity for fight directors and stunt coordinators to showcase their skills.

Who is in The Hunger Games cast?

The cast of The Hunger Games is to be announced. As it’s a story about young people, it seems likely that it will offer some up-and-coming young actors an exciting big break, perhaps with some well-known character actors as the adults.

Who are the characters in The Hunger Games?

The Hunger Games includes the following characters:

• Katniss Everdeen: the 16-year-old heroine, a talented archer and survivalist who volunteers to take part in the 74th Hunger Games as District 12’s (the most impoverished district of all) female tribute in place of her sister. Katniss is independent, quick-tempered, loving, and fiercely protective of those more vulnerable than her.
• Peeta Mellark: District 12’s male tribute, who has had a crush on Katniss since childhood.
• Gale Hawthorne: Katniss’s best friend in District 12, a skilled hunter.
• Haymitch Abernathy: the winner of the 50th Hunger Games and Katniss and Peeta’s mentor, a nihilistic alcoholic.
• President Coriolanus Snow: the sadistic dictator of Panem.
• Seneca Crane: Head Gamemaker of the 74th Hunger Games.
• Caesar Flickerman: The Hunger Games’ sinisterly flamboyant master of ceremonies and chief commentator
• Cinna: Katniss’s stylist, who provides emotional support.
• Effie Trinket: a social-climbing Hunger Games chaperone.
• Primrose Everdeen: Katniss’s delicate younger sister.

What are some fun facts about The Hunger Games?

• Suzanne Collins has explained that she was influenced by the Greek myth of Theseus and the Minotaur, in which seven youths and seven maidens are sacrificed to the Minotaur (a part man, part bull monster) in a labyrinth, as well as the real-life gladiator games of Ancient Rome. She is from a military family and her father served in the Korean and Vietnam Wars – the latter involved a lottery in which soldiers were drafted. She has also talked about being struck by the juxtaposition between reality shows and coverage of the Iraq War when channel surfing in the early 2000s.
• Another story in which sacrificial victims are chosen by a lottery that’s enabled by mob mentality is Shirley Jackson’s short story The Lottery, which so horrified readers when it was published in The New Yorker in 1948 that the magazine was bombarded with complaints. It’s short enough to read on a tea break and it will stay with you forever.
• The books and films inspired a huge uptick in girls taking up archery. USA Archery sent Collins a letter saying, "You've made archery hot. For pretty much the first time ever, in modern-day America."
• Katniss's first name is the Lenape word for the edible arrowroot plant, which was consumed by Native Americans in the Pacific Northwest area and has a potato-like taste. Her surname is in honour of Bathsheba Everdene, heroine of Thomas Hardy's Far From the Madding Crowd – another headstrong young woman.
• Collins wrote the novels with a theatrical structure in mind as each instalment is written in three acts.

Check back for The Hunger Games tickets on LondonTheatre.co.uk.