John le Carré’s The Spy Who Came In From The Cold will make its long-awaited West End debut this autumn, following a sold-out premiere at Chichester Festival Theatre.
Adapted for the stage by award-winning playwright David Eldridge and directed by Jeremy Herrin, this marks the first time a le Carré novel has been brought to the West End stage.
Rory Keenan and Agnes O’Casey reprise their critically acclaimed roles as Alec Leamas and Liz Gold. They are joined by Gunnar Cauthery as Hans-Dieter Mundt and John Ramm as George Smiley.
The production will run for 14 weeks in the round at @sohoplace from 17 November 2025 to 21 February 2026, with opening night set for 26 November.
British intelligence officer Alec Leamas is weary and ready to come in from the cold. But when George Smiley offers one final mission, Leamas is drawn back into a world of deception and danger.
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 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?”
Jeremy Herrin added: “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.”
Simon Cornwell, co-CEO of The Ink Factory, said: “It’s thrilling to be bringing John le Carré’s global best-seller The Spy Who Came In From The Cold to the West End: the first of le Carré’s novels ever adapted for the stage. David Eldridge and Jeremy Herrin have embraced the book’s ‘atmosphere of chilly hell’, as JB Priestley called it, to create a thrilling, visceral and emotionally devastating piece of theatre, brought to life by a brilliant ensemble. We can’t wait to share their stunning work with le Carré fans old and new, and we hope they are excited by it as we are.”
The creative team includes Max Jones (design), Azusa Ono (lighting), Paul Englishby (composition), Elizabeth Purnell (sound), Lucy Cullingford (movement), Bret Yount (fight direction), Hazel Holder (voice), and Jessica Ronane CDG (casting).
Listings and ticket information can be found here.
