West End premiere of John le Carré’s THE SPY WHO CAME IN FROM THE COLD announced
Photo credit: Johan Persson
It has been announced that John le Carré’s The Spy Who Came in From the Cold, adapted for the stage by award-winning playwright and screenwriter David Eldridge, will receive its West End premiere @sohoplace from 17 November 2025 - 21 February 2026, following its 2024 sold out premiere at Chichester Festival Theatre.
Directed by Jeremy Herrin, this is the first novel by the undisputed master of the modern spy genre to be brought to life on stage.
Rory Keenan and Screen International Star of Tomorrow Agnes O’Casey will reprise their critically acclaimed roles as disillusioned British intelligence officer Alec Leamas and the idealistic, left-wing librarian Liz Gold. John Ramm and Gunnar Cauthery also return as George Smiley and Hans-Dieter Mundt. Completing the cast are original performers Philip Arditti as Fielder, Norma Atallah as Miss Crail/President of the Tribunal, Matt Betteridge as Riemeck/Kiever, Ian Drysdale as Control, Tom Kanji as Ashe, and David Rubin as Pitt/Ford.
British intelligence officer Alec Leamas is weary, hardened, and ready to come in from the cold. But when spymaster George Smiley presents one final mission — dangerous, deceptive, and deeply personal — Leamas agrees to stay in the game. Dispatched into enemy territory, he finds his convictions tested and his defences breached by Liz Gold, a quietly defiant librarian whose compassion threatens to thaw his frostbitten heart.
The Spy Who Came In From The Cold is designed by Max Jones, with lighting by Azusa Ono, composition by Paul Englishby, sound by Elizabeth Purnell, movement direction by Lucy Cullingford, fight direction by Bret Yount, voice coaching by Hazel Holder, and casting by Jessica Ronane CDG.
Adapter David Eldridge says: “It has been a great privilege adapting John le Carré's youthful masterpiece for the theatre, and it gives me great pleasure that after a sellout run in Chichester, we’re able to share the play with audiences in London. Although set in the murky world of the cold war espionage thriller it’s a strikingly relevant story for our times. The Spy Who Came in from the Cold asks us how one can retain one’ s humanity and morality if one must operate with the same impunity and brutality as your enemy to defeat him?”
Director Jeremy Herrin says: “Rapt full houses in Chichester told us that John le Carré’s hit novel translates meaningfully to the stage, so it’s great to bring The Spy Who Came In From The Cold to the glorious Soho Place, just up the road from George Smiley’s old haunt at Cambridge Circus. It’s an appropriate place to explore the high stakes of the Cold War, the moral bankruptcy of both East and West, and the power of love when Alec Leamas eventually finds something worth fighting for. David Eldridge keeps us on the edge of our seats as a talented group of actors take us on the twists and turns of this shattering and thrilling ride.”
