The year is 1976. A rising rock band locks itself in the studio to cut the album that will rocket them to superstardom. Stereophonic drops the audience right into that crackling air—into the exact moment a band is either about to implode or explode into legend. Drugs, booze, and jealousy sit on the mixing desk like lit fuses. Songs stitch themselves together while relationships tear at the seams. The play’s mantra is brutal and clear: “Mics hot, tapes rolling, but in this band someone is always flat.”
Written by David Adjmi, directed by Daniel Aukin, and laced with original songs by Will Butler (ex-Arcade Fire), Stereophonic is a raw, fly-on-the-wall autopsy of creative discord. The Hollywood Reporter called it “audaciously original—epic yet intimate,” and it hands you the best seat in the booth: the one inside the control-room glass.
Running a meaty 3 hours 10 minutes (one intermission), the length is the point. Every minute is needed to let the fractures deepen, the love triangles knot, and the birth-pangs of genius bleed across the console. Herbal cigarettes and simulated drugs are in play; the show is recommended 13+.
This is theatre that asks the million-dollar question: can the purest music only be born from the most toxic human mess?
Show Snapshot
Playwright: David Adjmi
Director: Daniel Aukin
Music: Will Butler (formerly of Arcade Fire)
Venue: Duke of York’s Theatre, West End, London
Dates: Now – 22 November 2025 (limited season)
Running time: 3h 10m (one interval)
Age guidance: 13+
Bragging rights: The most Tony-nominated play in Broadway history.
