After 35 years The Silence of the Lambs remains one of the most recognisable, and most quotable, thrillers of all time. Whether you’ve seen the film, watched a Simpsons parody or heard a rogue rendition of “Quid pro quo, Clarice,” you’ll have seen the mark Hannibal Lecter and Clarice Starling have left on pop culture history.

Yet, while the film forever sits in every top horror, thriller and Hollywood ranking, it is often pulled into conversations of LGBTQIA+ representation, particularly in its depictions of gender.

Buffalo Bill, AKA Jame Gumb, the main antagonist of The Silence of the Lambs, has become the face of the ‘crossdressing serial killer’ trope.

In the film, Hannibal Lecter asserts that the murderer is “not really transsexual”, but the storyline of creating a dead woman suit has marred on-screen representation of the transgender community, with even Gumb’s actor Ted Levine calling it “f**king wrong” in The Hollywood Reporter this year.

With that in mind, the creators of the new Silence of the Lambs stage play had a decision on their hands. As EastEnders actor John Partridge put it: “We don’t need to vilify our trans brothers and sisters any more than they have been already.”

Both Partridge – who plays the on-stage Hannibal Lecter – and playwright Gina Gionfriddo, explained that the decision to change Gumb’s backstory wasn’t a simple one.

“It wasn’t a snap decision, because of the way the novel explains it,” said Gionfriddo.

“We’re adapting the novel, not the film, and so the way it’s written to me is not in any way offensive. But it requires a great deal of explanation that we didn’t have time for, and it would have been a lot for an audience to digest because it’s complicated.”

The new storyline sees Gumb fighting an obsession with his deceased mother who birthed him by caesarean. “Buffalo Bill is born by a caesarean section and he feels that has been his downfall,” said Partridge. “He believes he was ripped from his mother and he wants to go back inside.”

Gionfriddo added: “He was inspired by real-life serial killers like Ed Gein, so it wasn’t hard to dig into those stories. And it absolutely makes sense this way, it just felt like something that was going to be so charged that it would distract an audience from the larger thing we were trying to do.”

This adaptation’s version of Gumb will be played by Skins actor Sam Jackson, as the show tours UK venues from now until June 2027.

While bringing back the Silence of the Lambs as a stage show might seem like a simple case of honouring the film’s anniversary, the writer made it clear that there is a deeper message to bringing it back.

“I’m a big consumer of true crime, and at the time the novel was published, there really wasn’t a true crime industry the way there is today. Now, it’s a billion dollar industry so I felt like it was important to go back to a time when this kind of a crime was truly shocking and heartbreaking.

“One of the by-products of true crime exploding is that we’ve become a little numb to dead women. So when you see the characters in this reacting to the bodies of the victims, the level of shock will be unfamiliar. This kind of shock and heartbreak is a bit dated, but it’s a wonderful thing to get back to.”

Partridge said the same: “It’s so hard to shock people these days, isn’t it? You know, you turn on the news, there are so many shocking things that are happening 24 hours a day that it just washes over us now. But maybe we need a bit of Hannibal Lecter these days.”

Partridge is starring alongside Coronation Street’s Mollie Gallagher as Clarice and Oliver Farnworth (Emmerdale) as Agent Jack Crawford.

When creating the part for himself, Partridge said the pressure was definitely on to move away from the familiarity of Anthony Hopkins.

“I read this interview where Hopkins said he based the voice on three people: Katharine Hepburn, Truman Capote and HAL from 2001 [A Space Odyssey], so I made sure my voice was completely different, I’d say it’s a bit of Cary Grant, Liz Taylor and John Malkovich.”

But despite any fears, there was never a doubt for him on taking the part: “How often do you get to play someone that simply by saying the character’s name, it takes the other person’s breath away?

“It’s simple. It’s the boogeyman, and everyone needs a boogeyman.”

When and where is The Silence of the Lambs on stage?

The Silence of the Lambs stage play has officially kicked off its UK tour, here’s the full list of dates and venues. You can buy tickets at ATG Tickets and Ticketmaster.

• 1–15 Aug 2026 — Leicester, Curve
• 18–22 Aug 2026 — Newcastle, Theatre Royal
• 24–29 Aug 2026 — Glasgow, Theatre Royal
• 1–5 Sep 2026 — Aberdeen, His Majesty’s Theatre
• 8–12 Sep 2026 — Edinburgh, Festival Theatre
• 15–19 Sep 2026 — Nottingham, Theatre Royal
• 28 Sep–3 Oct 2026 — Milton Keynes, Milton Keynes Theatre
• 6–10 Oct 2026 — Salford, Lowry
• 12–17 Oct 2026 — Bradford, Alhambra Theatre
• 19–24 Oct 2026 — Oxford, New Theatre
• 27–31 Oct 2026 — Peterborough, New Theatre
• 2–7 Nov 2026 — Hull, New Theatre
• 10–14 Nov 2026 — Belfast, Grand Opera House
• 24–28 Nov 2026 — Dublin, Bord Gais Energy Theatre
• 5–9 Jan 2027 — Birmingham, The Alexandra
• 11–16 Jan 2027 — Blackpool, The Grand Theatre
• 26–30 Jan 2027 — Malvern, Malvern Theatre
• 15–20 Feb 2027 — Swansea, Grand Theatre
• 22–27 Feb 2027 — Chester, Storyhouse
• 1–6 Mar 2027 — Brighton, Theatre Royal
• 9–13 Mar 2027 — Tunbridge Wells, Assembly Hall Theatre
• 15–20 Mar 2027 — York, Grand Opera House
• 31 Mar–3 Apr 2027 — Coventry, Belgrade Theatre
• 5–10 Apr 2027 — Richmond, Richmond Theatre
• 12–17 Apr 2027 — Cheltenham, Everyman Theatre
• 19–24 Apr 2027 — Bournemouth, Bournemouth Pavilion
• 26 Apr–1 May 2027 — Wolverhampton, Grand Theatre
• 4–8 May 2027 — Sheffield, Lyceum Theatre
• 10–15 May 2027 — Cardiff, New Theatre
• 17–22 May 2027 — Buxton, Opera House
• 31 May–5 Jun 2027 — Woking, New Victoria Theatre
• 15–19 Jun 2027 — Liverpool, Empire
• 21–26 Jun 2027 — Sunderland, Empire

For more recommendations check out the Theatre section or listen to our new podcast In the Interval. Plus, our Jesus Christ Superstar review and Beetlejuice review. We also have events like the best kids theatre shows and best West End shows.