‘Paddington the Musical’ is coming to London’s West End this autumn
by Andrzej Lukowski · Time Out LondonPaddington supremacy continues. The last year has seen the beloved Peruvian bear expand his portfolio to encompass a third film, a permanent London immersive experience, and his own limited edition run of Time Out magazine. Next up: Paddington the Musical.
Announced at the tail-end of 2023, the musical has been in development since and this autumn it’ll hopefully be ready for its debut at the Savoy Theatre. Beyond a date and venue we don’t actually know a huge amount about more about the show than we did before: it’s still going to be written by playwright Jessica Swale with songs by McFly mainstay and kids’ author Tom Fletcher; the director is still Luke Sheppard, who has admittedly become an even bigger in the world of family friend musicals since the initial announcement thanks to his work on the smash revival of Starlight Express.
Story-wise, it sounds like we’re getting the origin again, as the young bear turns up at Paddington Station, is taken in by the bougie Brown family, and gets to grip with British society. However, we presumably shouldn’t expect a straight up retelling of the first film – we’re promised this is ‘Paddington as you’ve never seen him before’.
There is no word on casting, though rumour has it the bear himself with be a puppet rather than a bloke in a bear suit.
Paddington the Musical is at the Savoy Theatre from Nov 1. Tickets go on sale May 15, or sign up here for priority booking on May 13.