Dr Strangelove: Armando Iannucci pens first stage adaptation of Stanley Kubrick film

The household of manager Stanley Kubrick person fixed their blessing for 1 of his classical films to beryllium adapted for the signifier for the archetypal time.

His 1964 apocalyptic Cold War drama Dr Strangelove volition beryllium staged by Armando Iannucci, who is known for TV governmental satires The Thick of It and Veep.

"As a story, weirdly it hasn't gone away," Iannucci told BBC News.

"It seems the close clip to punctual radical of the huffy logic down these unsafe games that superpowers play."

The amusement volition beryllium staged successful London's West End adjacent autumn, co-written and directed by treble Olivier Award victor Sean Foley.

Kubrick's widow Christiane said: "We person ever been reluctant to fto anyone accommodate immoderate of Stanley's work, and we ne'er have. It was truthful important to him that it wasn't changed from however helium finished it.

"But we could not defy authorising this project: the clip is right; the radical doing it are fantastic; and Strangelove should beryllium brought to a caller and younger audience. I americium definite Stanley would person approved it too."

Daughter Katharina Kubrick added: "The taxable substance of this movie is peculiarly applicable again successful our prevailing governmental climate.

"People often laughter erstwhile they would alternatively cry, and this is precisely however the film, and present the play, handles the anticipation of the eventual demolition of beingness connected Earth; certainly, an important taxable amongst many, to ore the mind."

The precocious director's household besides granted entree to Kubrick's archive, successful which Iannucci said helium had recovered papers relating to the movie including "some discarded scenes, archetypal drafts [and] moments that they were going to sprout and past decided not to".

He added: "There are small shards of ideas there, and 1 oregon 2 of them person developed into full-scale caller moments and caller scenes successful the last [play]."

Dr Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb - to usage its afloat rubric - was released 2 years aft the Cuban rocket situation brought the satellite to the brink of atomic war.

Foley said it's not hard to spot "the relevance to the thought of a benignant of Cold War betwixt the West and Russia" today.

"That's sadly travel precise overmuch backmost into our lives," helium said. "You don't person to look precise acold to recognize a benignant of relevance astir the imaginable for atomic conflict, fixed what's going connected with the penetration of Ukraine and everything that Putin is saying."

Iannucci added: "Not conscionable with the warfare successful Ukraine, but besides the full apocalyptic consciousness of planetary warming and truthful connected - it feels similar a precise applicable reassertion of the connection that, this is the madness staring astatine america if we don't bash thing astir it.

"And currently, we aren't doing thing astir it. So the result is not good.

"But if you tin permission the theatre with that connection and a smile, past each the better."

The brace person decided to support the communicative acceptable successful the 60s, and Iannucci said it would consciousness some "retro" successful its setting, and up-to-date with immoderate of his trademark dialogue.

"It's got 1 ft successful the 60s and 1 ft successful the contiguous day," helium said.

Foley added: "There's thing astir however the men of that epoch behave successful the film, and determination was a specificity astir the Cuban rocket situation and each of those things.

"And the look of it is great, truthful we rapidly decided we're going to support it successful that play and fto the evident resonances conscionable echo."

The movie famously starred Peter Sellers successful 3 main roles - the titular German scientist, a British serviceman who discovers a US wide has unilaterally ordered a atomic onslaught connected the Soviet Union, and the American president who indispensable effort to avert all-out annihilation.

The signifier mentation is present seeking a prima to play aggregate roles - albeit without the luxury of the clip Sellers had to alteration costumes and make-up.

"They've got to beryllium a large comic actor, of which we person precise many," said Foley, who is creator manager of the Birmingham Rep. "They've got to beryllium of that shape-shifting benignant of quality. They've got to privation it.

"It's going to beryllium a truly pugnacious gig. I'm definite immoderate people, erstwhile we attack them, are going to go, 'No way, I'm not going to beryllium compared with Peter Sellers successful those roles.'

"But determination volition beryllium idiosyncratic who has the appetite and accomplishment and endowment and sees the accidental to bash it successful their ain way."

In Dr Strangelove, galore of those holding large powerfulness implicit millions of lives are depicted arsenic often really being inept, ridiculous, reckless oregon unhinged. That's a strand of governmental satire that Iannucci picked up successful his enactment similar The Thick of It, US mentation Veep, and 2017 achromatic drama The Death of Stalin.

"It's these individuals who are precise quality and precise fallible, and yet connected whose connection and actions thrust the destiny of, successful Stalin's lawsuit millions, and successful Dr Strangelove's lawsuit humanity," helium said.

The writer and manager is present besides moving connected different theatre task astir Boris Johnson and his relation successful the pandemic and Partygate, though afloat details person not yet been announced.

"Rather than trying to bash a TV exploration of what's happening now, doing thing unrecorded connected signifier feels similar conscionable the close infinitesimal to bash it," Iannucci said of that play.

"Also, successful the past 3 years, we've been truthful enclosed successful our homes due to the fact that of the lockdown, and person got addicted to our screens, truthful really going retired and seeing thing unrecorded and successful the soma is each the much exciting. That's what excites maine astir really doing it arsenic a unrecorded signifier show."