John le Carré’s Landmark Spy Thriller Heads to London’s West End in Historic First

The legendary espionage novel that changed the genre forever makes its West End debut this November after a sold-out run in Chichester

In a historic first for London’s theatrical landscape, John le Carré’s groundbreaking Cold War thriller “The Spy Who Came in From the Cold” will receive its West End premiere this November. The production marks the first time any of le Carré’s novels has been adapted for the London stage, bringing the gritty, morally ambiguous world of Cold War espionage to life in the intimate setting of @sohoplace theatre.

Following a critically acclaimed and completely sold-out run at Chichester Festival Theatre earlier this year, this landmark adaptation will begin performances on November 17, 2025, with an official opening night set for November 26. The production is scheduled for a strictly limited 14-week season running until February 21, 2026.

From Page to Stage

“The Spy Who Came in From the Cold,” first published in 1963, revolutionized the spy genre with its bleak, unsentimental portrayal of Cold War intelligence operations. Named one of TIME Magazine’s All-Time 100 Novels, the book has remained a global bestseller for over six decades, resonating with readers for its uncompromising look at the moral compromises demanded by espionage work.

Award-winning playwright David Eldridge (known for “Beginning,” “Middle,” and his adaptation of “Festen”) has crafted the stage adaptation, which will be directed by Jeremy Herrin, whose recent West End successes include “People, Places and Things” and “Long Day’s Journey Into Night.”

“It has been a great privilege adapting John le Carré’s youthful masterpiece for the theatre,” Eldridge commented. “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.”

Stellar Cast Reprises Roles

The production brings its original Chichester cast to London, led by Rory Keenan (“Somewhere Boy,” “The Regime”) as the weary British intelligence officer Alec Leamas and Agnes O’Casey (named a Screen International Star of Tomorrow) as Liz Gold, the idealistic librarian whose compassion threatens to thaw Leamas’s hardened exterior.

John Ramm will reprise his role as George Smiley, le Carré’s most famous recurring character, while Gunnar Cauthery returns as Hans-Dieter Mundt. The supporting cast includes Philip Arditti, Norma Atallah, Matt Betteridge, Ian Drysdale, Tom Kanji, and David Rubin.

A Theatrical Spy Thriller

The story follows Alec Leamas, a battle-worn British intelligence officer ready to leave the espionage game behind. When spymaster George Smiley offers him one final mission—dangerous, deceptive, and deeply personal—Leamas reluctantly agrees. Sent into East Germany under a carefully constructed false identity, his mission becomes complicated when he meets Liz Gold, a librarian with left-wing sympathies whose humanity begins to penetrate his carefully maintained cynicism.

Director Jeremy Herrin explained why @sohoplace is the perfect venue for this tense thriller: “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.”

The production will be presented in the round, creating an intimate, claustrophobic setting that mirrors the paranoia and surveillance of the Cold War era.

Le Carré’s Theatrical Debut

While le Carré’s works have been adapted numerous times for film and television—including celebrated adaptations of “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy,” “The Night Manager,” and “The Little Drummer Girl”—this marks the first time one of his novels has reached the West End stage.

Simon Cornwell, Co-CEO and Co-Founder of The Ink Factory (and le Carré’s son), expressed his excitement about the production: “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.”

Ticket Information

Tickets for this landmark production will go on general sale from 10am on Thursday, May 22, 2025, with priority booking opening at 10am on Wednesday, May 21. Given the sold-out run in Chichester and the historical significance of the production, theater enthusiasts are advised to book early.

The production is presented by The Ink Factory and Second Half Productions in association with Nica Burns, and continues the legacy of le Carré, who passed away in December 2020 at the age of 89, leaving behind an unparalleled literary legacy that continues to influence espionage fiction and political thrillers to this day.

For London theater lovers and le Carré enthusiasts alike, this production represents a rare opportunity to see one of the 20th century’s most influential novels brought to theatrical life in a production that promises to capture all the moral complexity, tension, and human drama that made the original text so revolutionary.