The full cast has been announced for the return of The Comedy About Spies to the West End in August. The original West End company are reuniting for the limited eight-week run and they’re joined by original Mischief member Bryony Corrigan for the first time as Elena Popova.
The award-winning The Comedy About Spies returns to the West End following its critically acclaimed sold-out 21-week West End run in 2025, this time taking up residence at the Adelphi Theatre on the Strand.
View live availability for The Comedy About Spies here
Cast for The Comedy About Spies
The reunion of the show’s original West End company is the headline news here. It’s the same cast that made The Comedy About Spies a sell-out sensation during its 21-week run in 2025, winning the WhatsOnStage Award for Best New Play and earning an Olivier Award nomination and they’re back together for eight weeks only.
Written by and starring Henry Lewis and Henry Shields, the two Mischief co-founders who also created The Play That Goes Wrong, Bryony Corrigan, an original founding member of the company who makes her debut as Elena Popova.
The full cast is:
- Henry Lewis (co-writer, The Play That Goes Wrong) as Douglas Woodbead
- Henry Shields (co-writer, The Play That Goes Wrong) as Bernard Wright
- David Hearn as Lance Buchanan
- Adele James as Rosemary Wilson
- Chris Leask as Sergei Ivanov
- Greg Tannahill as Albert Tipton
- Nancy Zamit as Janet Buchanan
The ensemble and understudy company includes Macadie Amoroso, Adam Byron, Matt Cavendish, Allie Dart, Niall Ransome and Ashley Tucker.
The Comedy About Spies: a masterpiece in chaos
When a rogue British agent makes off with the plans for a top-secret weapon, operatives from the CIA and KGB converge on London’s Piccadilly Hotel in chaotic pursuit.
Throw in a clueless young couple, a hapless actor angling for the role of James Bond, and enough double agents to confuse even the sharpest operative, and the result is a mission that is spectacularly, hilariously out of control.
The creative team
The production returns with its original creative team intact: written by Henry Lewis and Henry Shields, directed by Matt DiCarlo, with set design by David Farley, costume design by Deborah Andrews, movement direction by Shelley Maxwell, lighting design by Johanna Town and sound design and composition by Jon Fiber for JollyGoodTunes. Jonathan Sayer, another original Mischief founding member, serves as executive producer.
Plan your visit to The Comedy About Spies
- Theatre: Adelphi Theatre, 409–412 Strand, London WC2R 0NS
- Booking dates: 1 August – 26 September 2026
- Performance schedule: 1–30 August: Tuesday–Saturday 7.30pm | Wednesday & Saturday 2.30pm | Sunday 3pm (2 August only) and 7pm
1–26 September: Tuesday–Saturday 7.30pm | Saturday & Sunday 2.30pm | Sunday 7pm
Related News
Everything you need to know about The Lives of Others in London
Discover London’s most haunted theatres and ghost stories from the West End
Why Keira Knightley chose The Lives of Others for her stage return
Lee Mead to return to the Adelphi Theatre for 20th anniversary of Any Dream Will Do win
Latest News
Everything you need to know about The Traitors: Acts of Betrayal in London
Nina Raine’s sweeping new adaptation of Middlemarch arrives at the RSC: See brand-new images from the production
What to expect from Pride the Musical ahead of highly anticipated transfer to the Bridge Theatre
