Hull Theatres are thrilled to announce a new chapter in the legacy of The Silence of the Lambs, as the global cultural phenomenon prepares to make its world stage play premiere next year.
Acclaimed television writer and playwright Gina Gionfriddo (Law & Order (NBC), Rapture, Blister, Burn) brings Thomas Harris’ gripping literary masterpiece to the stage in a new modern adaptation directed by Nikolai Foster.
This electrifying new production heads to Hull New Theatre from Monday 2 – Saturday 7 November 2026 as part of a major UK and Ireland tour.
When FBI trainee Clarice Starling is sent to interview the psychiatrist and infamous murderer Hannibal Lecter, it’s hoped his brilliant mind will help catch sadistic new serial killer, Buffalo Bill. Another girl is missing, and time is running out. But Dr Lecter has questions of his own, and now Clarice must decide: keep a safe distance, or let Hannibal ‘The Cannibal’ into her head?
Gina Gionfriddo’s theatrical adaptation delves into the psychological tension of Thomas Harris’ landmark novel, drawing the audience deep into Clarice and Lecter’s intelligent, intricate, and bone-chilling game of cat-and-mouse, as the FBI scramble to catch Buffalo Bill, a serial killer still at large.
Playwright Gina Gionfriddo said: “Thomas Harris’ novel speaks so eloquently to the interior terrors that fuel his iconic characters – both the monsters and the heroes who slay them. What a privilege it has been to bring these stories to the stage.”
Thomas Harris’ quartet of Lecter novels, Red Dragon (1981), The Silence of the Lambs (1988), Hannibal (1999) and Hannibal Rising (2006) have sold more than 50 million copies worldwide and have influenced countless modern thrillers. Famed for his scalpel-sharp prose, Harris created in Hannibal Lecter an erudite and urbane serial killer who continues to fascinate the cultural imagination. Clarice Starling remains one of our most compelling fictional heroines — a woman who steps into the darkness to see justice served, armed with intellect, empathy, and unshakable resolve.
Harris’ four novels have been adapted into multiple film and TV adaptations featuring acclaimed performances by Brian Cox, Anthony Hopkins, Mads Mikkelsen, Jodie Foster, Julianne Moore and directorial masterclasses by Jonathan Demme and Ridley Scott.
This stage production is a thriller not to be missed.
Tickets on sale Friday 28th November at 10am. Book at the Hull City Hall Box Office, call 01482 300 306 or visit www.hulltheatres.co.uk.