The Spy Who Came In From The Cold...to the theatre: John Le Carre's classic novel to make West End debut

21 May 2025, 09:43

Espionage author John le Carre's global best-selling thriller The Spy Who Came In From The Cold will be staged in London's West End for the first time.

Set at the height of the Cold War, the novel follows a disillusioned British intelligence officer, Alec Leamas, who is forced to carry out one last operation in Berlin.

After a sold-out production at Chichester Festival Theatre, the stage adaptation will run for 14 weeks in London from November.

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Adapted by playwright and screenwriter David Eldridge, the London production will star Rory Keenan, best known for Somewhere Boy and The Regime, who reprises his role as Alec and is joined by Black Doves star Agnes O'Casey, who returns to play librarian Liz.

John Ramm, known for his stage performances in King Lear and Wolf Hall/Bring Up The Bodies, will also return for the London production to play spymaster George Smiley.

Eldridge said: "It has been a great privilege adapting John le Carre's youthful masterpiece for the theatre, and it gives me great pleasure that after a sell-out 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?"

Le Carre, whose real name was David Cornwell, wrote best-selling novels including Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and The Night Manager, and died in December 2020 aged 89.

Prior to his career as a writer, he worked in British intelligence throughout the 1950s and 1960s.

Career intelligence officer Smiley became the author's most well-known character and was made even more famous by Alec Guinness in the TV series of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy which aired in the late 1970s.

Film versions of Le Carre's novels include 2001's The Tailor Of Panama, starring Pierce Brosnan, Geoffrey Rush and Jamie Lee Curtis; 2005's The Constant Gardener, starring Ralph Fiennes and Rachel Weisz; and 2011's Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, starring Gary Oldman, Colin Firth and Tom Hardy.

The theatre production will be directed by Jeremy Herrin, who describes it as a "thrilling ride" full of "twists and turns".

Speaking about the London production, Herrin said: "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."

The Spy Who Came In From The Cold was adapted into a film in 1967 and starred Welsh actor Richard Burton, who won the Bafta for best actor for his portrayal of Leamas.

The film took home a total of four Baftas, including the award for British film, art direction and cinematography - black and white.

The London production will run for 14 weeks at Soho Place from November 17 2025 until February 21 2026.

Opening night is due to take place on November 26 with tickets going on general sale from 10am on Thursday May 22.