A hit stage adaptation of John Le Carré's classic ‘The Spy Who Came In from the Cold' is heading to London's West End
John Le Carré's 1963 book The Spy Who Came In from the Cold is quite probably the greatest spy novel of all time and certainly one of the greatest works of English literature to come out of the Cold War.
A critically acclaimed but film adaptation starring Richard Burton came out in 1965, and a new TV miniseries has allegedly been in the works for years, but it's never really had a truly iconic adaptation a la Le Carré's borderline ubiquitous Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy.
Maybe its first adaptation as a play could be the one. Written by veteran playwright David Eldridge and directed by heavyweight former Headlong boss Jeremy Herrin, this inaugural stage version of The Spy Who Came in from the Cold scored great notices at the prestigious Chichester Festival Theatre last year and now it's heading our way.
It stars Irish actor Rory Keenan as hardbitten Cold War spy Alec Leamas – on the cusp of returning from the field after the elimination of his East German network of agents, he's pushed by spymaster George Smilie into just one more job. But as he stages a defection to the other side, matter become hugely complicated when he falls for idealistic librarian Liz Gold. Agnes O'Casey and John Ramm return as Liz and Smilie.
The Spy Who Came in from the Cold is at @sohoplace, Nov 17-Feb 21 2026.
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