If you’ve been to London recently, you’ll have likely heard about The Hunger Games: On Stage.
Plastered on billboards, across buses and filling our TikTok feeds are ads for the city’s hottest new theater ticket: A seat in The Hunger Games arena, in a world-first adaptation of Suzanne Collins‘ smash-hit dystopian franchise that sees 24 children offered up to a totalitarian dictatorship and made to kill one another for sport.
Adapted by Conor McPherson and directed by Matthew Dunster, the enthralling, 2.5-hour production is a feat of engineering, technology, choreography, illusion work and just about every possible creative department you could think of. Harness-clad tributes fly across the room and fight to the bloody death in the center of the purpose-built Troubadour Canary Wharf Theatre. Created just for The Hunger Games: On Stage, the venue features a handful of sub-stages, swivelling audience seating and complicated rigs that are used to suspend its performers and props 30-odd feet in the air.
The play also has something The Hunger Games franchise isn’t in any need of: star power. John Malkovich plays the stone-cold President Snow in pre-recorded videos that bookend the arena, looming over the show’s Katniss Everdeen in a crisp, white suit.
Enter Mia Carragher. The young, Liverpudlian actress lands her first major role in Dunster’s production after some years spent training at the prestigious Tring Park School for the Performing Arts in Hertfordshire, England. The daughter of Liverpool Football Club legend Jamie Carragher, the 21-year-old is making a name for herself on her own terms — and not letting that Scouse accent slip one bit.
“Honestly, it came quite naturally, which I was quite glad about,” the performer tells The Hollywood Reporter about nailing Katniss’ American accent. “The other day, our associate director said, ‘We’ve done 50 shows’ And I was like, ‘What the hell?’ You don’t even think. It literally just comes out of your body.”
It’s all muscle memory for Carragher now: The sprinting, the climbing, the archery, all in between monologuing as a petrified, underestimated Katniss and sharing intimate moments with her Peeta Mellark (Euan Garrett). She admits to being “obsessed” with Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson’s Hunger Games performances — and, in what might have been something of a good omen, even worked with the latter on a film last year — but her rebellion-sparking sharpshooter isn’t an imitation of Lawrence’s Katniss.
“I wanted to make it my own and see what I could do with the character, but also, with the material that I had and how we were performing it — on stage and in the purpose-built theater — there was no other option than to have a different version of [her],” Carragher explains to THR.
Below, the actress talks about the making of The Hunger Games: On Stage and the buzz around the show. She reveals some of the A-list stars to have come and watched, which sequence is the trickiest to get right each night and why fans are flocking to see how this world-renowned tale can be told in front of a live audience: “There’s people that have traveled from America just to come and watch — it makes you think, ‘This means so much to so many people.’”
Hi, Mia! I’d love to know about your relationship to The Hunger Games books and films. Were you a fan before this role came along?
Yeah, I was a fan of the films and I’m obsessed with Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson’s [movies]. I would re-watch them all the time. I remember they were on Netflix for a while. I think they’ve been taken off Netflix now. It’s one of those films that, no matter how many times you’ve watched it, it’s like, “Oh, let’s just put it on again.” You can never get bored of it. So then when the audition came about, I was like, “What?” At first I was so curious [about] how they were going to do it on stage. And then when the audition came through, that’s when I was like, “Oh my god, I need to read these books as many times as possible to prep.”
What was the timeline there? When did you first hear that they were holding auditions for it, and when did you find out you’d got it?
It was in January. So I was on holiday in Thailand, and I think the audition came through and it was for the day after I got back from Thailand. The whole last week when I was on holiday, I was trying to prep as much as I could, but it was just a movement call, so I didn’t get any sides [a few excerpts from a script] or anything. I just knew that if I was going to read, it was going to be for Katniss. So when I went into the movement call, I tried to just embody her.
And I think— I mean, it did go well, because then when I was on my way home, my agent rang me and said, “Can you read tomorrow for Katniss?” I was like, “Oh my god!” And then my mum and dad were in London for Valentine’s Day, and I crashed and stayed in their hotel. [Laughs.] Then I read, and it went well. A couple weeks later, I read again, then we did a fight call, and that was with Kev [McCurdy], our fight director. And again, I went into that trying to embody Katniss in the fights. After that we did harness work. I mean, you’ve seen the show — I need to be good [at] flying and things. Two weeks later, I got the call.
Oh wow. I mean, I know you’ve got a background in performance — you went to Tring, so you’ve got dancing, singing, all of it under your belt. When you were in the early rehearsal stages for this show, was the physicality daunting or just exciting?
Even at first when I read the script, I don’t think I realized. Because obviously you’re just reading stage directions and script and then going in the rehearsal room and seeing how physical it was gonna be… But I was kind of excited, because all my training could be used for this role.
Do you remember the moment you found out you’d got the role?
Yeah. I had some kind of idea. You just get a little feeling… I couldn’t explain it. I’ve maybe had it with other things before, but never this much. And then a couple days before, Matthew, the director, followed me on Instagram. And then I was checking to see who he follows, and he’d followed a couple of other people, and I was like, “Maybe they’ve got it.” It was two days later, I took myself on a walk because I couldn’t think straight. I didn’t know what to do. And my agent called me — both my agents, on a joint call. I think I was like, the street away from my house. So I sprinted home, and then FaceTimed my mum and dad. I was so excited.
Is this your first theater role?
I’ve done other, smaller bits. But this is my debut in professional theater.
So what kind of prep went into your Katniss? Because this is maybe quite a different Katniss to Jennifer Lawrence’s Katniss.
Yes!
Did you want to make it different?
In my head, I wanted to make it my own and see what I could do with the character, but also, with the material that I had and how we were performing it — on stage and in the purpose-built theater — there was no other option than to have a different version of [her]. You’ve got the inner monologue, the talking to the audience, which I really enjoyed. Before rehearsal, I did as much as I could: reading the books, trying to get as much information [as possible]. But then in the rehearsal process, I think I really just found my way with the script, written by Conor McPherson and then Matthew Dunster, the director. Being in the space, especially, I think helped all of us a lot.
Did you rehearse in the theater?
We did six weeks in a studio, and then we had quite a long tech [rehearsal]. It was three or four weeks of tech rehearsal. On the first preview, we did a dress rehearsal. That was the day of the first preview. And that was the first time we’d ever done the play as everything all together, because it was so tech heavy, it took us so long to put it all together.
It really is impressively tech-heavy. There is so many things to think about at once and whoever is in charge of that operation has nerves of steel. Before we discuss, a quick note on your very convincing American accent. As a scouser no less! Did you have a coach?
I actually went to New York to study acting at [the] Lee Strasberg [Theatre & Film Institute]. So I was around a lot of American people there. While I was there, I did accent lessons to help with the American accent, because we do a lot of scene work, and because people were American, I’d try and match it. I think I’m a big listener, so listening to that helped me.
For this, we did have an accent coach, but to be honest, it was on very little things where it was little words that I needed to make sure that I was saying the proper American way, so no one was like, “She’s not American.” But honestly, it came quite naturally, which I was quite glad about.
Is it muscle memory now you’ve done it so many times?
It’s so funny, I think the other day, our associate director said, “We’ve done 50 shows.” And I was like, “What the hell?” You don’t even think. It literally just comes out of your body.
There’s the tech, art, props, choreography, so much to think about. How many months were you in rehearsal and who were the formative voices through the decision-making of shaping such a physical show?
So we began rehearsing at the beginning of August, and then the first preview was the 20th of October. So nearly three months.
That’s not even that long!
It’s actually not. And we’re creating a whole new play. So I was really thankful [that] Matthew, the director, he had a really strong idea of how he wanted everything to go. And I’d done a couple workshops before rehearsal. They had a strong plan about what they were going to do when we went into it, which I think was super helpful. We also had a movement director, Charlotte Broom, our fight director Kev and we had an illusions [creative, Chris Fisher] — every possible department. Then we’d all come together in rehearsal. But obviously, Matthew always made the final decision. It was crazy to see in previews how much [the show] changed.
What do you mean by that?
I think the first preview was nearly three and a half hours long. We cut, like, 45 minutes off the play. So in previews, when we’re performing of a night, we’d be there all day chopping and changing things around. So the beginning is I come up from sub-stage by myself. But at first it started with all of the tributes coming up, and we did a distorted version of the beginning of act two, where we’re in the games and it was shown as a nightmare scene. Then one day we just came in and they were like, “Yeah, that’s not the beginning anymore.” And we were all just, “Oh, okay!”
Something that I was so impressed with was everyone’s fitness. I was thinking about you guys just running around for three hours.
The first time we did it, I was dead. Like, exhausted. And there’s moments where I’m running around and then I have to stop and speak for ages. The first few times I was like, “I don’t know how I’m gonna speak, I’m so out of breath!” But I think I’ve definitely got play fit. My body knows everything that’s happening now, so I’ve definitely gotten used to it. But sometimes, even when we have just the one day off a week, and then we go back to do it on the Tuesday, I’m like, “God, that was hard just having one day off.”
Which sequence do you find the most stressful?
I think the beginning of act two…
The fight at the cornucopia?
Yeah, there’s so many different fights. So as well as doing your own fight, you have to be so aware of what’s going on around you. There’s blood packs [used], so there’s blood all over the floor. There’s a few times where a few of us have actually slipped, because we haven’t looked down to see where the blood’s been splattered. And then, when the tracker jacker nest comes down.
It’s so clever, but I am sending thoughts and prayers to whoever is in charge of health and safety! What’s your favorite sequence?
The bit that really stands out to me is the bit when Thresh lets me go. Obviously, there’s emotional bits [of the show] and sometimes it can be hard to reach that state every night. But that is always a moment that gets me where I don’t even have to try too hard to get to an emotional point. It’s near the end of the play as well and I think my body knows I’m nearly there. [Laughs.]
Have you been pleased by the reaction to the show?
Anyone that I’ve met outside after the theater, at the stage door, or people [who have] messaged me… I’ve had the nicest messages. And I think the ones that really mean the most to me is a lot of young girls, when they come to watch and they say, “Oh, that’s what I want to do when I’m older,” or, “You’ve really inspired me,” or “Katniss has showed me that I can do this.” They’re the messages where I’m like, “Oh, my god, that is so lovely.” And every time I see younger people in the audience, if I’m finding it hard that day, it keeps me going.
The Hunger Games IP is so popular, so it’s no wonder people have been flocking to it. When you were rehearsing, did you know you were making something that was going to attract so many fans?
I knew it was going to be so cool and loads of people there, but there’s people that have traveled from America just to come and watch this specifically. I’m like, “What?” Or people just traveling from other countries, or even coming down from Scotland just for the day to come and watch. And it makes you think, ‘This means so much to so many people.’
I think it also really helps to have John Malkovich there — that big name attached. Did you get to meet him?
Yeah, I did. In our scenes we talk, but obviously he’s on the screen. So when he went to record it, we stood behind the camera and read the lines and that was just so cool. We were all like [widens eyes], but he was so nice to everyone. We were all a bit nervous, but he made everyone feel comfortable.
If you could play any other character, though, who would you choose?
God, we like to say this all the time. Who would we want to be? This is so not possible, but I think Caesar [Flickerman] just seems like such a fun role. The interaction with the audience. I think Clove, one of the tributes, is a really cool role as well. I think Cato and Clove have a lovely relationship, and I think it’s really shown in our play as well.
You’re right. She has her knives, which is very cool. But Katniss has her bow! Did you take archery lessons for this?
Yeah, I did. I did a few weeks of a course before I moved to London, and then, it’s so funny — the other day, the people who taught me archery traveled from Liverpool to come watch. I was literally shaking while I was doing it. I was so scared they were gonna be like, “That’s wrong!”
You made it look so effortless. I was trying to figure out how all of the illusions were done — including with the bow — but it really speaks to the work of the prop department, the illusions team. Everything is so meticulously choreographed and designed.
There’s so many. You will have seen the openings in the floor and things coming up, and we can’t leave anything in the wrong place on stage, because it could be covering a trap on the floor, and then they’d have to do a show stop because they can’t go into the next scene if we’ve left something there by accident.
Have you had to do show stops?
[Nods.] There’s a moment with the career tributes where a campfire comes up and someone had accidentally left a prop on it, so they couldn’t bring the campfire up. And then when Rue comes on and she’s like, “The smoke from the campfire!” it’s kind of like, ‘Oh, this doesn’t make sense.’ Yesterday we had a show stop because when the bags come down, there’s the moment where Thresh lets me go and he comes from the ceiling. And something happened with the wire so he couldn’t get down. But it’s really important for him to get Clove off me in that scene. There’s no other way we could go about it. So they had to stop.
How do you find that? Are you just told to stay put? “Technical issues”?
Yeah, sometimes you feel like you’re so into it, and then it’s like, ‘Wait, did I just hear something?’ Then you hear the stage manager being like, “Stop, stop, please leave the stage.”
Fascinating. Do you have a favorite costume? There’s some crackers when you’re in the Capitol.
The interview dress is really gorgeous. And then the chariot one is really cool as well. That skirt that I’ve got on has plugs coming out of it. So then when I do get onto the chariot, me and Euan, who plays Peeta, we literally get plugged into it so that the smoke can come out of us and we light up.
Is it a real fire?
It’s smoke and then with the lights, it gives it an orangey tone, so it looks like fire. But when the floor and everything goes on fire, we can really feel the heat, even when we’re on the chariot.
I’m assuming you are not scared of heights…
No. [Laughs.] I mean, in tech rehearsals, sometimes when we do it with the house lights on, that would scare me more in a way. But when it’s dark, I’ve got so many other things to think about when I’m that high up.
Has anyone famous come to see the show?
Ian McKellen came the other day. It was funny, no one knew he was there. And then in the beginning of act one, I went off for a quick change, and someone was like, “Ian McKellen’s here.” But I was so confused… Euan was like, “He’s on this row. Look there.” That was so cool. And then on press night, Lily Allen came, which was really cool, because at the time we were all listening to her new album on repeat.
Did you get to meet any of them after the show?
We went and told our company manager, Kate, that Ian McKellen was there. Then after the show, she went up to him and said, “The cast would love to get a picture.” So he came and met us backstage.
How lovely. The production has probably been helped as well by the buzz around Sunrise on the Reaping. Have you read it yet?
No, I haven’t read it yet, but I’m really excited to watch the film.
You need to read it before you watch!
I should, because I’ve spoken a lot to Josh [Lacey], who plays Haymitch [in the production]. I am really, super excited. In this play, we have a lot of Easter eggs to the other books. When Effie says, “Happy Birthday!” to Haymitch and things like that. I am really excited. I’m going to make sure I read it before I watch it.
Have you met any of the cast members from the films?
I met Josh Hutcherson because I did a film with him. It was a few months before I did the audition for this, it was a film called Let’s Love by Jamie Adams. It was an improv film, and I just had a small role, but I had a scene with him. In [the scene], I had to get a picture with him. It was so funny. When I found out I’d got the role, I was like, ‘I swear I’ve got a picture with Josh Hutcherson.’ I found it on my phone.
Finally, then, when does the show end?
Most of our contracts are for a year.
What would the dream be for after this? Would you want to take it to Broadway, or do something in TV and film?
I think I’ll always be connected to this in a way. And if it did go to Broadway or New York, I’d so be like, “Please take me!” That’d be so fun. But no, I’d love to do TV and film as well and I still would love to do stage. Honestly, anything. But I think because of how fulfilling this role is, I’d want to do something that really fulfilled me in every aspect.
The Hunger Games: On Stage is currently running at the Troubadour Canary Wharf Theatre.
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