Sacha Baron Cohen takes the title role in his first West End appearance, with tickets from £25.
The Popinjay Cavalier, the first stage play from writer-director Quentin Tarantino, opens at London's Phoenix Theatre on 18 March 2027, after previews from 23 February. Sacha Baron Cohen, currently starring in Ali G: Who Iz I?, takes the title role, which will also be his first West End appearance.
The run is set for three months and closes on 13 June. The play is described as a "swashbuckling comedy" set in 1830s Europe. Its synopsis calls it a "rambunctious comedy of deception and disguise inspired by the grand swashbuckling epics of stage and screen." According to the production company, the play takes its cue from the classic swashbuckler genre of Hollywood's past, drawing on the writings of Jesse Lasky Jr., Ernst Vajda and George Bruce.
Tickets went on sale on Monday, 12 October, through the play's website, starting at £25, with priority access from 9 a.m. BST and general sale from 12 p.m. BST.
Deadline reported in September, citing sources close to the project, that Baron Cohen would play the title character. The producers have now confirmed it. Baron Cohen described the phone call that brought him on board:
"When the best director in the world calls, you don't ask questions."
In a statement, he said he is "beyond delighted" that they will be "losing our West End virginity together", and that he made Tarantino promise "not to be gentle".
Tarantino said in a statement: "I'm keen with anticipation to give the West End a great night out." He had already said last year that the work was well under way. "The play is written," he said at the time, adding that it would be "probably going to take up a year and a half to two years of my life."
The producers, Tom Rothman, who serves as chairman and chief executive of Sony Pictures Entertainment's Motion Picture Group, and Sonia Friedman described it as a "joy and an honor to be developing this play with Quentin." They called Baron Cohen a "fearless, brilliantly inventive actor" and said they feel "immensely fortunate" to be producing the show.
The creative team includes scenic and costume designer Tom Pye, lighting designer Natasha Chivers, fight director Philip d'Orleans and music by Tim Phillips. The rest of the cast has not been announced.
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