Stranger Things' Noah Schnapp to Make Stage Debut in AFFLUENZA At Riverside Studios
Performances will run 26 September - 21 November.
Noah Schnapp, the American actor known to millions as Will Byers in hit television show ‘Stranger Things’, will make his world stage debut in ‘Affluenza’, a new play written and directed by Andy Sandberg at Riverside Studios, London from 26 September until 21 November (press night 5 October).
Set against the ultra-wealthy social haven of the Hamptons, Affluenza raises thought-provoking questions about moral accountability, family legacy, and the American justice system.
Noah Schnapp said today, ‘I am so excited to make my stage debut in London with ‘Affluenza.’ I started talking with Andy Sandberg a few months ago about finding the right opportunity to work together, and it’s thrilling to now be bringing this play to life in London. I wanted to be very intentional about what I took on next, and as I spend more time with this excellent script, I feel so connected to the characters. Without giving away too much, I get to play two very different roles, and it’s a story that’s really going to leave audiences talking and thinking.
Mainstage Season Artistic Director Andy Sandberg said, ‘I am incredibly excited to be launching this play and this season in just a few weeks – and now with Noah Schnapp at the helm. Noah is a brilliant young actor who has captivated audiences on screen, and now London audiences will have the opportunity to see him in his stage debut. I’m honoured that Noah has connected with the script, and I think it speaks volumes that he has chosen an original play for his stage debut. ’
Additional casting and creative team for Affluenza will be announced soon.
Mainstage Season 26/27 is launching with three world premieres. Following Affluenza, Sacrilegious, by Tom Schulman, the Oscar-winning writer of the films Dead Poets Society and Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, will run from 5 December 2026 to 23 January 2026 (press night 15 December), and Expecting, by Scott Elmegreen & Drew Fornarola, runs from 30 January to 27 March 2027 (press night 9 February). Both plays are directed by Andy Sandberg, who also serves as Artistic Director for the Hermitage in the United States. Further productions and casting will be announced soon.
The Mainstage at Riverside Studios is a 400-seat theatre in West London. In recent years, the venue has been home to Ulster American (starring Woody Harrelson & Andy Serkis), Second Best (starring Asa Butterfield), and Operation Mincemeat, among others.
The Mainstage Season at Riverside Studios is presented by ABS Productions, Whitney Edwards, Flora Major, Judith Manocherian, Sondra Biller, Drew & Dane & Whitney, and Berman-Cohen Productions. DEM Productions serves as General Manager.
Performances will run 26 September - 21 November 2026, Monday - Saturday at 7.30 pm, Thursday and Saturday matinees at 2.30 pm. (No performances on 1 October or the matinee of 7 November; extra performance 4 October at 7.30 pm and Tues 3 November at 2:30 pm) Captioned performance - 14th Nov at 2.30 pm.
Privilege is inherited. So are the consequences.
When a teen’s drunken car ride ends in devastation, the verdict comes down to one question – is it possible to be too affluent to know the difference between right and wrong? Inspired by true events surrounding a shocking legal defence, Affluenza explores the ripple effects of power and privilege.
Set against the ultra-wealthy social haven of the Hamptons, Affluenza raises thought-provoking questions about moral accountability, family legacy, and the American justice system. Do any of us truly understand the cost and generational impact of privilege and opulence?
The world premiere of Affluenza is the first of five plays launching the Mainstage Season 26/27 at Riverside Studios, each for a limited eight-week run. This biting and darkly funny new play is written and directed by Andy Sandberg and will star Noah Schnapp, with further casting to be announced.
About Noah Schnapp
Noah Schnapp is recognised for his versatile talent and wide-ranging work on screen and beyond. He most recently starred as Will Byers in Netflix’s global phenomenon Stranger Things, opposite Winona Ryder and Millie Bobby Brown. Since its debut in 2016, the series has become a cultural landmark, earning over 50 Primetime Emmy Award nominations, a Peabody Award, multiple MTV Movie & TV Awards, and a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Ensemble. The fifth and final season broke major streaming records for Netflix, becoming its biggest English-language debut ever with 59.6 million views in its first five days and reaching 105.7 million total views to become the #9 most-watched English series of all-time within weeks of its finale. For his work, Schnapp has received a 2022 People’s Choice Award for ‘Male TV Star,’ as well as the ‘Most Frightened Performance’ award at the 2018 MTV Movie & TV Awards and ‘Choice Summer TV Star: Male’ at the 2019 Teen Choice Awards. He is also an honoree of Variety’s Youth Impact Award and was recognised as one of their 2023 Power of Young Hollywood recipients. Outside of Stranger Things, Schnapp previously starred in The Tutor alongside Garrett Hedlund and Victoria Justice. His additional film credits include Waiting for Anya with Anjelica Huston, the indie drama Abe which premiered at Sundance, Adam Sandler’s Netflix comedy Hubie Halloween, Steven Spielberg’s Oscar-winning Bridge of Spies, and the animated feature The Peanuts Movie, in which he voiced the iconic Charlie Brown. Schnapp recently graduated from the University of Pennsylvania, where he pursued cinema and media studies.
About Andy Sandberg
Andy Sandberg (Playwright / Director / Mainstage Season Artistic Director) is a New York-based director, writer, and Tony Award-winning producer. He is currently Artistic Director and CEO of the Hermitage Artist Retreat, a leading national arts incubator in the United States. Sandberg’s theatrical work has been represented in New York, London, and throughout the U.S. He directed the UK premieres of Alan Brody’s Operation Epsilon and Jeannette Bayardelle’s Shida, earning multiple Off-West End Award nominations, including Best Director and Best Musical. Additional world premieres as director in New York include Straight (NY Times Critics’ Pick); Application Pending (also co-author; BroadwayWorld Award: Best Off-Broadway Play, Drama Desk nom: Outstanding Solo Show, Winner: Book Pipeline Prize); Shida (Ars Nova and A.R.T., four AUDELCO noms., including Best Director, Best Musical), Craving for Travel (also co-author); and the Off-Broadway musicals The Last Smoker in America and Neurosis, among others. In New York, London, and at the Hermitage, he has directed dozens of workshops and readings of new plays and musicals, including works by Pulitzer Prize, Tony Award, Olivier Award, and Academy Award winners and nominees. He has also written the feature-length screenplays for the films Five More Minutes and Haul Out the Holly, two of Hallmark’s most highly rated Christmas movies. In 2009, at the age of 25, Sandberg became the youngest producer to win a Tony Award. Broadway and West End producing credits include the hit revival of Hair (2009 Tony Award, also West End); the Broadway revival of Gore Vidal’s The Best Man, starring James Earl Jones and Angela Lansbury (2012 Tony nom.); and Will Eno’s The Realistic Joneses, starring Toni Collette, Michael C. Hall, Tracy Letts, and Marisa Tomei. In his role as Artistic Director and CEO of the Hermitage, Sandberg has established the organisation as one of the preeminent new works incubators in the United States, celebrating and elevating the voices of diverse and accomplished artists spanning theatre, music, visual art, dance, film, literature, and more. He recently directed a workshop of Chris Bush’s Hermitage-commissioned play Orlando (FL) at London’s National Theatre. Sandberg is a graduate of Yale University, where he managed and performed with the Whiffenpoofs, the Dramat, and the Yale Alley Cats. He is a member of the Stage Directors & Choreographers Society (SDC), Actors Equity Association (AEA), and the Writers Guild of America (WGA).
