With Olivier Award and WhatsOnStage Award nominees, degrees from the Syliva Young Theatre and ArtsEd, and a multitude of credits across the stage and screen, Isabella Pappas is making her name known in the industry. And her latest endeavour is particularly exciting.

Starring as Joy Maldonado in the award-winning play Stranger Things The First Shadow, she brings Netflix’s beloved series to the Phoenix Theatre. Set in Hawkins in 1959, it tells the prequel story to the one we all know and love, exploring the past of many of the classic characters.

We talk to Isabella Pappas about her year so far, how she fell in love with acting, and what’s to come.

See some behind-the-scenes photos…

Read the interview…

Hi Isabella, how has 2024 been treating you so far?
2024 has been great so far, I feel very lucky with my life at the moment. I’m lucky enough to be doing a job I love with people I love I don’t know what more I could ask for!

Talk to us about how you originally fell in love with performing?
I originally fell in love with performing when I was five I played a seahorse in The Little Mermaid (a made up part because there were too many kids) and I remember having so much fun just being on stage I knew I wanted to do it forever.

Can you share with us your journey from being cast in The Villains of Valley View to now preparing for your role in the Stranger Things prequel stage play?
The journey from Disney to Stranger Things was a whirlwind. It was such a different type of job being TV and a sitcom so going back to my roots in theatre was challenging in the best way. I missed being on stage and the sense of community it brings. 

How do you approach transitioning between different mediums such as television and stage acting, and how does your preparation differ for each?
With TV it’s very different I think it’s more of an solitary process with more time alone in your dressing room whereas with theatre it’s more about working on a sense of community and sacrificing your ego a bit to create something that works for the good of the play as a whole.

What has been the most rewarding aspect of working in this industry for you?
The most rewarding aspect is the relationships you create with people you work with I think. The bonds you create with people are so individual and unique when collaborating and forming a story together it’s really special.

How do you make roles your own while staying true to the character’s essence?
I think it’s about maintaining aspects of yourself within the character. The best performances are truthful ones and that’s much easier when you are essentially playing a version of yourself.

What attracted you to the independent project Beach Boys and how does this role differ from the ones you’ve previously taken on?
Beach Boys is a physiological thriller which is actually my favourite genre of film so I was very excited when I read the script. I think the character is an extremely layered well written female lead – the way she is written actually reminds me of a younger version of myself she’s very insular and finds it difficult to speak up sometimes which I think balances out the male characters in the film beautifully.

With your experience in both television and stage productions, do you have a preference for one over the other?
I couldn’t choose one over the other it’s like two completely separate jobs almost. TV gives a sense of nuance that sometimes can be lost in a big theatre but the sense of community and energy you get on stage is incomparable.

What other plans and aspirations do you have for 2024?
2024 is going to be mostly filled with the run of Stranger Things so I’m looking forward to finding new and interesting ways to keep myself engaged and excited onstage and getting to experiment with different sides to a character I know and love.