North London Food & Culture

MUST DO: Night of the Living Dead Live!

The pioneering horror movie gets its first ever official stage adaptation

Quite unbelievably – at least to those as obsessed with the film as we were growing up – this is the first ever UK stage adaptation of the classic George A. Romero horror flick. Furthermore, says the blurb, it’s the only officially authorised production ever.

That doesn’t, of course, guarantee that it’s any good, but it does seem like a reason to check the new play out.

Directed by Benji Sperring, this stage production (we do like the use of the word ‘Live!’) is doing a six week stint at the underrated Pleasance Theatre, tucked away on Carpenters Mews in that slightly off-the-beaten-track area between Camden and Caledonian Road.

It promises to rework the iconic scenes along with what it says is an “entirely new journey” for the characters from the farmhouse in the second act. Whether it will succeed in “skirting the line between the horrific and the hysterical” is anyone’s guess.


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And if we’re going to chuck in some analysis too, it could probably be argued that, 50 years after the movie, the story remains as relevant as ever through its examination of America’s national identity.

Not to mention the fact that it’s spawned countless rip-offs over the years – none of which has matched the power of the original, of course.

Tickets: pleasance.co.uk, from 9th April till 19th May, Pleasance, Carpenters Mews, North Rd N7

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