Sacha Baron Cohen to Headline Quentin Tarantino's First Stage Play, 'The Popinjay Cavalier,' Premiering on London's West End in March 2027
LONDON, Oct. 12 — Sacha Baron Cohen will headline Quentin Tarantino's "The Popinjay Cavalier" when it premieres at the Phoenix Theatre in London's West End on March 18, 2027, according to PA Media. The production marks the Hollywood director's first play written for the stage, which he will also direct. Tickets went on sale Monday, October 12: priority booking opened at 9 a.m. BST and the public sale at noon, with prices starting at GBP 25 and more than 16,000 tickets priced under GBP 50 across the run.
The play is produced by Sony Pictures Entertainment and Sonia Friedman Productions, with full casting to be announced later. Set in 1830s Europe, it is billed as a rambunctious comedy of deception and disguise inspired by the grand swashbuckling epics of stage and screen, including the writings of George Bruce, Ernst Vajda and Jesse Lasky Jr.
Baron Cohen, 54 — best known for creating comic characters including Ali G and Borat, and the winner of two BAFTAs and three Golden Globes — said Tarantino's call was all it took for him to say yes before the director had finished his first sentence, joking that the two will be making their West End debuts together and that he made Tarantino promise not to be gentle with him. Tarantino, 63, said he was keen with anticipation to give the West End a great night out.
Tom Rothman, chairman and chief executive of Sony Pictures Entertainment's Motion Picture Group, and producer Sonia Friedman said in a joint statement that developing the play with Tarantino was a joy and an honour, and called Baron Cohen a fearless, brilliantly inventive actor with the wit, mischief and daring the role demands.
Tarantino made his directorial debut in 1992 with "Reservoir Dogs" and went on to direct "Pulp Fiction" — which won him his first Oscar — "Kill Bill," "Inglourious Basterds," "Django Unchained" and "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood," winning two Academy Awards, two BAFTAs and four Golden Globes across his career. He first revealed his stage plans in 2025 on the Church of Tarantino podcast, saying the play was all written and that the project would likely take up a year and a half to two years of his life.
(Source: PA Media)
Source: PA Media
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: Sacha Baron Cohen 2024年照片，CC BY 2.0（Wikimedia Commons，摄影：Raph_PH）
