Over the weekend a very special character debuted at the West End at the Savoy Theatre.
With the message of “London, please look after this bear,” “Paddington the Musical” premiered November 1.
A well kept secret, producers Sonia Friedman and Eliza Lumley, are ready to bring the orange marmalade loving bear to life saying “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.”
Paddington is brought to life by offstage puppeteer James Hameed and onstage Arti Shah.
Timi Akinyosade, Amy Booth-Steel, Tarinn Callender, Delilah Bennett-Cardy, Adrian Der Gregorian, Tom Edden, Brenda Edwards, Amy Ellen Richardson, Victoria Hamilton-Barritt, Teddy Kempner, and Bonnie Langford will be joining Paddington on stage.
Adapted from the children’s series written by Michael Bond, “Paddington The Musical” is an original story.
Bon released his first book introducing the Peru native in “A Bear Called Paddington” in 1958. Since that time a total 29 books have been released with the final book released after Bond’s death in 2018. He has also appeared in several television programs and films.
A much loved character and bear in Britain, Paddington was the first to travel the Chunnel in 1994.