The Hunger Games first live adaptation sets to open at London

The popular book The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins will get its first live stage adaptation in the autumn of 2024.

The first book in Collins' trilogy and the first movie in Lionsgate's dystopian franchise have been adapted for the theatre by Olivier Award-winning writer Conor McPherson. 

The project will be directed by Matthew Dunster, who also oversaw Hangmen and 2:22 - A Ghost Story.

“I’m very excited to be collaborating with the amazing team of Conor McPherson and Matthew Dunster as they bring their dynamic and innovative interpretation of The Hunger Games to the London stage,” Collins shared in a statement.

McPherson expressed similar enthusiasm, stating that the author's endorsement was “humbling and inspiring.“

“She has created a classic story which continues to resonate now more than ever,” he wrote in his own statement. “In a world where the truth itself seems increasingly up for grabs, The Hunger Games beautifully expresses values of resilience, self-reliance and independent moral inquiry for younger people especially.”

The production, The Hunger Games, will bring the novel's plot to life by following 24 teenage tributes as they compete in a lethal arena. Jennifer Lawrence's character Katniss Everdeen, who serves as a tribute for her 12-year-old sister in the movie series, becomes a symbol of rebellion as she battles for her life and the hope of a country being oppressed by the Capitol.

The play is the most recent endeavour to come out of the sweeping novelization. The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes, written by Collins, has been adapted into a movie that will be released in theatres in November.