Steve Coogan (“Hamlet 2“) will star in the British stage adaptation of Stanley Kubrick’s 1964 film “Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb.” Like Peter Sellers‘ Oscar nominated performance in the original, Coogan will be taking on multiple roles for this nuclear war satire.
This stage adaptation is headed up by Armando Iannucci (“Veep”) with Sean Foley (“The Play What I Wrote”) directing and co-writing. Back in July the duo feared that they may not be able to find an actor that could seemlessly fill the parts of a German scientist, a British officer, and an American President.
“They’ve got to be a great comic actor, of which we have very many,” Foley told BBC News. “They’ve got to be of that shape-shifting kind of quality. They’ve got to want it.”
“It’s going to be a really tough gig,” he admitted. “I’m sure some people, when we approach them, are going to go, ‘No way, I’m not going to be compared with Peter Sellers in those roles.’”
But it seems that Coogan is up to the task and understands the gravity of doing the Kurbrick film justice. “The idea of putting Dr Strangelove on stage is daunting, a huge responsibility,” Coogan said in a statement. “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.”
Kubrick’s estate is notoriously reluctant to allow adapations of the late director’s work. But they also seem to have faith in Coogan ablities. Considering the official Stanley Kubrick account on X (formerly Twitter) made the casting announcement.
An annoucnemnet that was later confirmed by Iannucci on his account.
The stage adaptation of “Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb” is set to premiere at London’s Noel Coward Theatre on October 8th, 2024. We’ll keep you posted on more updates as they become available.
