The award-winning BBC anthology series Inside No. 9 is set to make its stage debut in January 2025. The show’s creators, Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith, will star in the West End production, titled Inside No. 9: Stage/Fright.
Pemberton and Shearsmith, who are also writers and actors in the series, announced their plans to bring Inside No. 9 to the stage, stating: “We’ve been asked about doing a live show ever since the series first started… We are currently writing the script… There will be something old, something new, something butchered, and something…”
The series, which premiered in 2014, features self-contained 30-minute stories, each set in a different location with the number 9. The stage play will draw on existing popular episodes and characters, offering a mix of old and new material.
Pemberton and Shearsmith are no strangers to the stage, with Shearsmith having starred in The Unfriend at the Criterion Theatre and Pemberton set to appear in The Pillowman at the Duke of York’s Theatre. The pair also have a history of writing for the stage, with their comedy troupe The League of Gentlemen, which began as a stage act in 1995.
The show promises to deliver a unique blend of comedy and drama, with Pemberton and Shearsmith stating: “We want to use the different things a theatre show can offer in terms of comedy… There’ll definitely be some big comic moments, but also something a bit spooky and more dramatic.”
Inside No. 9: Stage/Fright will run for 12 weeks at Wyndham’s Theatre in London, starting on January 19, 2025, with press night on January 29. Tickets will go on sale on May 8, coinciding with the premiere of the ninth and final season of the TV series on BBC Two and iPlayer.
