Peter Sellers in Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stopy Worrying and Love the Bomb

Veep and The Thick of It creator, Armando Iannucci, will collaborate with Olivier award-winning actor Sean Foley on the first authorized adaptation of Stanley Kubrick’s 1964 apocalyptic comedy, Dr. Strangelove, which starred Peter Sellers, George C. Scott and Sterling Hayden, tells the story of a rogue US general who triggers a nuclear crisis and puts the world on the verge of catastrophe when he orders an attack on the Soviet Union.

“In these sad times what better to cheer the nation up than a stage show about the end of the world,” Iannucci quipped on BBC Radio 4’s Today program this past weekend.

Iannuchi’s Dr. Strangelove gets Kubrick family seal of approval…

As reported by the Guardian, this is the first time Kubrick’s family have allowed his work to be adapted. His 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, said: “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.”

Those of you that know me, know that I have never, ever needed a reason to want to travel to London, but I think this will definitely be one to plan a trip around.

Dr. Strangelove is scheduled to open in the West End in autumn 2024.