Following a sold-out premiere at Chichester Festival Theatre and a 14-week West End run at @sohoplace, The Spy Who Came In From The Cold will embark on a major UK tour beginning 12 March 2026.
Adapted by award-winning playwright David Eldridge and directed by Jeremy Herrin, this marks the first time a novel by John le Carré has been brought to the stage.
The production will open at Leicester Curve before travelling to 21 venues across the UK, including Edinburgh Festival Theatre, Theatre Royal Brighton, and Wales Millennium Centre.
David Eldridge said: “It has been a great privilege adapting John le Carré’s youthful masterpiece for the theatre, and it gives me great pleasure that after the play’s West End run this autumn-winter season, we’re able to share the play with audiences across the UK on tour. 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?”
Jeremy Herrin added: “Rapt full houses in Chichester told us that John le Carré’s hit novel translates meaningfully to the stage and so I am delighted that we are bringing The Spy Who Came In From The Cold to audiences around the UK next year, following the production’s West End premiere at Soho Place this autumn. 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 through the twists and turns of this shattering and thrilling ride. I can’t wait for this next chapter.”
Simon Cornwell, co-CEO and co-founder of The Ink Factory, said: “This first ever adaptation of John le Carré’s novels for the stage has been received with warmth and critical acclaim which is both deeply heartening, and incredibly well deserved given the wonderful work of David and Jeremy. The tension of the story is palpable in a completely new way through this telling of The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, unravelling betrayal, humanity, and the nature of truth live in front of audiences – and it’s wonderful to know it will now reach even wider through this national tour.”
Justin Audibert and Kathy Bourne of Chichester Festival Theatre said: “Following its sell-out run in 2024 at Chichester Festival Theatre, we’re thrilled that Jeremy Herrin’s outstanding production will be seen not only in London but across the UK. As one of the country’s leading regional theatres, we’re keenly aware of the vital role theatres play in their local communities; so for audiences in no less than 21 venues – from Brighton to Glasgow and Bromley to Cardiff – to have the opportunity to see David Eldridge’s gripping stage version of John le Carré’s masterpiece is hugely gratifying.”
The production features design by Max Jones, lighting by Azusa Ono, sound by Elizabeth Purnell, composition by Paul Englishby, and movement direction by Lucy Cullingford. General Management is by Second Half Productions, with Melting Pot as Executive Producer for the UK Tour.
Listings and ticket information can be found here.
