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Brighton actress stars in West End Stranger Things

Manuel Harlan A full cast photo. 22 people are on stage stood next to a row of red lockers. All actors are staring to the left focusing in on one man. All of the people are wearing patterned clothes including striped tops, checked shirts and bright dresses. Manuel Harlan
Stranger Things: The First Shadow is on at the Phoenix Theatre, London

An actress from Brighton is enjoying her West End debut in Stranger Things: The First Shadow.

Miranda Mufema, 21, is playing Patty Newby, a character that has been created specifically for the stage production.

The stage show was born out of the success of the Netflix series and acts as a prequel, set in the fictional town of Hawkins.

Ms Mufema told the BBC that "the spirit of Stranger Things is to embrace your weirdness, and to find connections with others through that."

The prequel is set in 1959, around 25 years before the series.

Fans are hoping for the fifth series to be released on Netflix in 2025.

The show has won two Olivier awards, is directed by Stephen Daldry and is being performed at the Phoenix Theatre in London.

The production follows the arrival of new student Henry Creel as him and his family try to settle in the town.

A woman wearing a bright pink jumper sat in a chair. She is wearing a white and pink flowery headscarf and blue jeans.
Ms Mufema is making her West End debut aged 21

Ms Mufema said her character reminds her a lot of her younger self, "really imaginative" and a "strong individual".

She will play Patty Newby until late 2025.

Ms Mufema trained at ThirdSpace Theatre, Brighton, and described the company as a "beautiful organisation", somewhere that "supported young people who perhaps didn't have access to theatre".

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