TheTraitors has been what we debate over breakfast, smash plates over and shout ‘we love you Stephen’ for the last couple of months but now the show has come to a close, we’ve been left wanting more and the Traitors Team have provided.
With an Instagram announcement on 26 January, came the spell-binding reveal that The Traitors would be hitting stages in London. The promotional video, the only teaser for the show so far, depicts the bright lights of the capital, because ‘the Traitors have left the castle’, as Claudia Winkleman and her entourage migrate to the city to produce ‘a new mission’.
From this brief teaser, as the owl flies across the auditorium, guiding the three hooded chosen ones into the space, it seems the technological value of this production will be enhanced. Not only have we already been gifted this high-budget teaser but LED lights flicker and the traitors huddle around a large lantern downstage. Lighting, will play a big part in this production it seems, as it does in the TV show itself.
We can surely expect a show of camp, buoyant humour emerging from the darkness of the Traitors’ castle and the glare of tawny owls.
More exciting was the announcement of the team behind the production. Studio Lambert, the current TV production team are collaborating with Neal Street Productions to bring the ‘ultimate game of deception’ onstage. Neal Street, are no strangers to stage and TV, producing the acclaimed Lehman Trilogy alongside Sam Mendes-directed The Motive and The Cue.
Studio Lambert, specifically Stephen Lambert, CEO of Studio Lambert explained “faithful fans should expect an intense, joyful night out as we reveal a thrilling new hunting ground for the Traitors”.
Not only that but, writing the show is John Finnemore, propelled to fame through his BBC Radio Four comedies. We can surely expect a show of camp, buoyant humour emerging from the darkness of the Traitors’ castle and the glare of tawny owls.
Olivier award-winning extraordinaire and director of Operation Mincemeat, Robert Hassie will be the driving force behind this show which will surely require a heavy devising process in the rehearsal room. In the past, The Traitors has not manifested in this choreographed style, only as a participatory experience which launched in 2025 in the West End. In a game full of random decisions, furious backstabs and arguably stupid decisions all laced with dramatic irony, directing this production will be some feat.
What this show will be like will come down to its format. Similar TV productions include Great British Bake Off : The Musical, although The Traitor’s live show is sure to be a slice above the rest given viewing numbers on the TV series. The stage show, looks to involve a cast of Traitors, battling it out to gain top spot, in the castle environment. The way I see it, the show will place the round table at its heart, but also will dramatise some corridor conversations often seen in the castle, with the challenges being removed given the difficulty to portray them on stage. All we do know is that co-founder of Neal Street Productions, Caro Newling, says that the show will bring “a bold, structural twist to the format that only the live medium can provide”.
Are we (the audience) the traitors? Will removing the reality TV authenticity be damaging? I guess we can only wait to find out… Is this the ‘endgame’?
Image provided as part of Press Release via Bread and Butter PR