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Tuesday 13 October 2026
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Tarantino’s first stage play heads to the West End with Sacha Baron Cohen

Quentin Tarantino will direct his own swashbuckling comedy ‘The Popinjay Cavalier’ at London’s Phoenix Theatre from February 2027.

Sacha Baron Cohen on a red carpet
Sacha Baron Cohen at the London Film Festival in October 2024. File photo.Photo: Raph_PH, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Quentin Tarantino will direct his first stage play, The Popinjay Cavalier, a comedy set in 1830s Europe, at the Phoenix Theatre in London’s West End. Sony Pictures Entertainment and Sonia Friedman Productions announced the production on Sunday.

Sacha Baron Cohen will play the title role in his West End debut, with further star casting to be announced. The producers describe the play as a comedy of deception and disguise.

The Phoenix Theatre in London
The Phoenix Theatre, London, in 2024.Photo: Celsoazevedo, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

When the best director in the world calls, you don’t ask questions.

Sacha Baron Cohen

Previews begin on 23 February 2027, with opening night on 18 March and booking until 13 June. Tickets start at £25, and more than 16,000 seats are priced under £50, WhatsOnStage reported. Sets and costumes are by Tom Pye, with lighting by Natasha Chivers.

Variety first reported in September that Baron Cohen was set to star. Tarantino has not directed a feature film since Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood (2019). He wrote The Further Mis-Adventures of Cliff Booth, directed by David Fincher and due in November.

Tickets went on sale on the day of the announcement.

Sources

  1. AP via News4JAX: Quentin Tarantino’s first stage play will debut in London with Sacha Baron Cohen as star
  2. WhatsOnStage: Quentin Tarantino’s The Popinjay Cavalier announces West End plans and initial star casting
  3. Variety: Sacha Baron Cohen to star in Quentin Tarantino’s first stage play

Compiled by The Meridian News Desk from the sources listed above. Eyewitness accounts are attributed and their verification status is stated. Where sources give different figures, both are shown.