First Look: John le Carré’s The Spy Who Came In From The Cold Opens in the West End

Production images have been released for the West End premiere of John le Carré’s The Spy Who Came In From The Cold, marking the first time a work by the legendary spy novelist has been adapted for the London stage.

The critically acclaimed adaptation, which sold out its premiere run at Chichester Festival Theatre earlier this year, is now playing at @sohoplace in London’s West End through February 21, 2026, with an official opening night on November 26.

Award-winning playwright David Eldridge (Festen) has adapted le Carré’s 1963 novel, which revolutionized the espionage genre by presenting a morally complex, unglamorous portrayal of Cold War intelligence work that contrasted sharply with the James Bond thrillers of the era. The novel has remained a global bestseller for over six decades and is widely considered le Carré’s breakthrough work.

Director Jeremy Herrin, whose recent West End credits include People, Places and Things and Long Day’s Journey into Night, helms the production.

The Cast

Rory Keenan (Somewhere Boy, The Regime) and Screen International Star of Tomorrow Agnes O’Casey (Lies We Tell, Black Doves) reprise their Chichester roles as disillusioned British intelligence officer Alec Leamas and idealistic librarian Liz Gold. The production also features John Ramm (King Lear, Wolf Hall) as George Smiley, le Carré’s most famous recurring character, and Gunnar Cauthery (Dear England) as East German intelligence officer Hans-Dieter Mundt.

The supporting cast includes Philip Arditti, Norma Atallah, Matt Betteridge, Ian Drysdale, Tom Kanji, and David Rubin, all reprising their roles from the Chichester production.

The Story

The Spy Who Came In From The Cold tells the story of Alec Leamas, a burnt-out British spy tasked with one final, morally compromising mission against East German intelligence during the height of the Cold War. The novel’s bleak realism and ethical ambiguity made it a landmark in espionage fiction when it was published in 1963, establishing le Carré as the preeminent chronicler of intelligence work.

The 1965 film adaptation, starring Richard Burton, won four BAFTA awards and received two Oscar nominations, cementing the story’s place in Cold War cultural history.

The Production

The creative team includes set design by Max Jones, lighting by Azusa Ono, and music by Paul Englishby. The production is presented by The Ink Factory (founded by le Carré’s sons Stephen and Simon Cornwell) and Second Half Productions, in association with Nica Burns.

Following its West End run, the production will embark on a UK-wide tour from March 12 through August 22, 2026.

About @sohoplace

The venue itself represents a piece of theatrical history—@sohoplace is London’s first new West End theatre in 50 years, having opened in October 2022. Located at 4 Soho Place in the heart of London’s theatre district, the theatre was designed with disability access and inclusion as core principles, offering wheelchair access on multiple levels and various accessibility features.

The theatre will host several accessible performances of The Spy Who Came In From The Cold, including a BSL-interpreted performance on January 23, a captioned performance on February 4, and an audio-described performance on February 12.

Performance Schedule and Tickets

Performances run Monday through Saturday at 7:30pm. Tickets are available through the box office at 0330 333 5963 or online. The theatre operates a contactless ticketing system, with tickets issued electronically 48 hours prior to each performance.

@sohoplace offers a complimentary cloakroom service for all patrons and requests that large bags be checked to maintain comfort in the auditorium.

Cultural Significance

The staging of The Spy Who Came In From The Cold represents a significant moment in le Carré’s legacy. While his novels have been adapted numerous times for film and television—including the recent hit series The Night Manager and the Apple TV+ documentary The Pigeon Tunnel—this marks the first time one of his works has received a major theatrical treatment in London’s West End.

Le Carré, who died in 2020 at age 89, wrote 25 novels over six decades, many drawing on his own experience working for MI5 and MI6 during the Cold War. His nuanced, psychologically complex portrayal of espionage work influenced generations of writers and helped establish the “realistic” spy novel as a serious literary genre.

Production images released today show the atmospheric staging, with period-appropriate design evoking the divided Berlin of the early 1960s and the grey world of Cold War espionage.

For visitors to London, the production offers both theatrical excellence and a chance to experience one of the city’s newest performance venues. The @sohoplace location in Soho makes it easily accessible and ideally situated for combining with dinner or drinks in one of London’s most vibrant neighborhoods.

More information is available at the theatre’s website, with production images available for viewing online.

Pictures by Johan Persson.