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Sixty years after cult movie, Dr. Strangelove plays in London's West End

Like Peters Sellers in the original version, Steve Coogan takes on several roles in this adaptation

Sixty years after cult movie, Dr. Strangelove plays in London's West End

In this undated handout image, Steve Coogan performs during a dress rehearsal for the production of 'Dr. Strangelove' at Noel Coward Theatre in London, Britain.

Manuel Harlan/Handout via REUTERS

Peters Sellers played the American President and German scientific advisor in the film

Stanley Kubrick's "Dr. Strangelove" was released in 1964; this version will run until January 2025


Sixty years after director Stanley Kubrick's movie "Dr. Strangelove" was released, a stage version of the black comedy has opened in London's West End starring Oscar-nominated and BAFTA award-winning actor Steve Coogan. Like actor Peters Sellers in the original version of the Cold War farce, Coogan takes on several roles, including U.S. President Merkin Muffley and German scientific advisor Dr. Strangelove.

"It's demanding physically, but it is rewarding to do. And audiences, if they laugh and they enjoy it, then that's all you can ask for," he said after the show on Tuesday.

"Dr. Strangelove" opens with U.S. General Ripper giving orders to attack the then-Soviet Union.

In this undated handout image, Steve Coogan performs during dress rehearsal for the production of 'Dr. Strangelove' at Noel Coward Theatre in London, Britain. Manuel Harlan/Handout via REUTERS

The U.S. president sets about trying to stop the bogus mission, and tensions escalate after the information emerges that a nuclear strike on the Soviet Union would trigger the Soviet Doomsday Machine - a secret device set to self-detonate and kill all life on the planet.

British writer Armando Iannucci, whose many awards include two Emmys for his work on Veep, adapted Dr. Strangelove with Sean Foley, who directed the stage version.

"We've rigorously tried to stick to the tone of the film and the plot, although we messed about a little bit with the plot," Foley said

The aim is to appeal to audiences who love the film and those who have never seen it. The continued relevance of the plot is unlikely to be lost on either.

In this undated handout image, Steve Coogan performs during dress rehearsal for the production of 'Dr. Strangelove' at Noel Coward Theatre in London, Britain.Manuel Harlan/Handout via REUTERS

"It's about America and Russia facing a nuclear conflict, all started by one rogue general, and then a process of bureaucracy and procedures that become unstoppable," Iannucci said.

Also present at Tuesday's performance was Christiane Kubrick, widow of Stanley Kubrick, who died in 1999, and his stepdaughter Katharina, who said, "The topic is more appropriate and more important than ever."

"Dr. Strangelove" plays at the Noel Coward Theatre in London until January 2025 before a run at Dublin’s Bord Gáis Energy Theatre.

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