John le Carré's The Spy Who Came in from the Cold Will Premiere in the West End

A stage adaptation of the John le Carré espionage thriller The Spy Who Came in from the Cold will premiere in the West End in the fall. Following its premiere at Chichester Festival Theatre, the show will run for 14 weeks at the venue @sohoplace from November 17 to February 21, 2026.

The adaptation is by David Eldridge with Jeremy Herrin directing. Rory Keenan and Agnes O’Casey star as Alec Leamas and Liz Gold, with Gunnar Cauthery as Hans-Dieter Mundt and John Ramm as George Smiley.

This is the first novel by le Carré, the master of the modern spy genre, to be brought to life on stage. “It has been a great privilege adapting John le Carré's youthful masterpiece for the theatre,” Eldridge said in a statement. “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?”

British intelligence officer Alec Leamas is weary, hardened and ready to come in from the cold. But when spymaster George Smiley presents one final mission—dangerous, deceptive and deeply personal—Leamas agrees to stay in the game. Dispatched into enemy territory, he finds his convictions tested and his defences breached by Liz Gold, a quietly defiant librarian whose compassion threatens to thaw his frostbitten heart.

The Spy Who Came in from The Cold is designed by Max Jones with lighting design by Azusa Ono, composition by Paul Englishby, sound design by Elizabeth Purnell, movement direction by Lucy Cullingford, fight direction by Bret Yount and voice by Hazel
Holder.