New West End show Paddington The Musical has unveiled a first-look at Paddington Bear, as the show starts previews at the Savoy Theatre in London.
Paddington The Musical is playing at the Savoy Theatre from tonight, 1 November 2025, and recently extended its run in London, now booking to 25 October 2026.
In the new show, Paddington is played by James Hameed, as the Off-stage Performer and Remote Puppeteer, with Arti Shah as the On-stage Performer.
The creative team behind the bear are Paddington Bear Designer Tahra Zafar, Bear Physicality Associate Director Audrey Brisson, Remote Puppetry Coach Audrey Brisson, and Paddington Bear Casting Director Annabelle Davis. The Alternate Paddington On-stage Performers are Abbie Purvis and Ali Sarebani.
Video: Meet Paddington Bear
They join a creative team led by director Luke Sheppard (& Juliet, Starlight Express, Just For One Day), that also includes musical supervisor, orchestrations and arrangements by Matt Brind; choreography by Ellen Kane; scenic design by Tom Pye; costume design by Gabriella Slade; lighting design by Neil Austin; sound design by Gareth Owen; video design and animation by Ash J Woodward; hair, wig and makeup design by Campbell Young Associates; illustration and additional animation by Majid Adin; musical director Laura Bangay; casting director Natalie Gallacher CDG for Pippa Ailion and Natalie Gallacher Casting; young persons’ casting director Nick Hockaday; physical comedy consultant Javier Marzan; and additional music consultants Tobago and D-Lime.
New Paddington The Musical photos released
See all photos and videos of Paddington The Musical in London >
The new musical is based on the much-loved Paddington Bear books by Michael Bond and the successful StudioCanal films, and has a book by Olivier Award winner Jessica Swale (Nell Gwynn, Summerland), and music and lyrics by McFly’s Tom Fletcher (The Creakers).
The cast of Paddington also includes Timi Akinyosade (Man Like Mobeen) as Tony, Amy Booth-Steel (Coronation Street) as Lady Sloane, Tarrin Callender (Hamilton) as Grant, Delilah Bennett-Cardy (The Magic Faraway Tree) as Judy Brown, Adrian Der Gregorian (Roman Holiday) as Mr. Brown, Tom Edden (Crazy For You) as Mr. Curry, Brenda Edwards (We Will Rock You) as Tanya, Amy Ellen Richardson (Extraordinary Women) as Mrs. Brown, Victoria Hamilton-Barritt (Hadestown) as Millicent Clyde, Teddy Kempner (Girl From The North Country) as Mr. Gruber and Bonnie Langford (Les Miserables) as Mrs. Bird.
The role of Jonathan Brown is played by Joseph Bramley, Leo Collon, Stevie Hare and Jasper Rowse.
Video: Meet the performers behind Paddington Bear
The ensemble cast features Esme Bacalla-Hayes, Tiago Dhondt Bamberger, David Birch, Aimée Fisher, Jacqueline Hughes, Kellianna Jay, Sam Lathwood, Natasha Leaver, Katie Lee, Sunny Lee, Vicki Lee Taylor, Jáiden Lodge, Andilé Mabhena, Rose Mary O’Reilly, Ben Redfern, Hugo Rolland and Simon Shorten.
In the show, when a small, lost bear from Peru arrives in London in search of a new home, a chance encounter with the Brown family leads him to the wonderful world of Windsor Gardens. But London isn’t all afternoon teas and friendly faces – and even the happiest families have their cracks beneath the surface. So when a mysterious and vengeful villain sets her sights on Paddington, the Browns embark on a thrilling rescue mission, realising they need this special bear as much as he needs them.
Producers of the show, Sonia Friedman and Eliza Lumley said in a statement: “After many years of exploration and development, we are thrilled, alongside StudioCanal, to finally bring Paddington to life on stage. It takes an extraordinary team to share this very special bear with the world — our amazing performers James and Arti, our brilliant alternates Abbie and Ali, and the incredible group of artists led by designer Tahra, alongside Audrey, Phill, and Annabelle. Their collective creativity and vision are at the heart of our production, and it has been a true collaboration, helmed by Luke Sheppard, our Creative, Associate, Stage Management, Production and Development teams involved in supporting us in bringing Paddington to life in a truly beautiful and unique way. What we as producers always hoped to achieve was, quite simply, Paddington on stage — and thanks to the immensely talented artists, both on and off stage, we believe we’ve realised that.”
Paddington at the Royal Variety Performance
It was announced last week that the cast of Paddington are performing at this year’s Royal Variety Performance 2025. Introduced by the show’s composer Tom Fletcher, the cast of Paddington will perform in the spectacular setting of the Royal Albert Hall.
Booking tickets to Paddington
Paddington The Musical is starting performances at the Savoy Theatre in London from 1 November 2025, currently booking to 25 October 2026.
Book Paddington The Musical tickets at the Savoy Theatre London
Savoy Theatre, London
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