Sacha Baron Cohen is to star in Quentin Tarantino's first stage play, a swashbuckling comedy announced for the West End next spring, in one of the most theatrical coups of the decade.
The Popinjay Cavalier runs at the Phoenix Theatre from 18 March, with tickets on sale from Monday: priority access opens at 9am for those who signed up in advance, with the public sale following at midday. Prices start at 25 pounds, and producers say more than 16,000 tickets across the run will be priced under 50 pounds.
A swashbuckling debut
Set in 1830s Europe, the play is billed as a "rambunctious comedy of deception and disguise inspired by the grand swashbuckling epics of stage and screen". It is produced by Sony Pictures Entertainment and Sonia Friedman Productions, and marks the film director's theatrical debut, a project he first trailed on the Church of Tarantino podcast.
Tom Rothman, chief executive of Sony Pictures Entertainment's Motion Picture Group, and Sonia Friedman said in a joint statement: "It is a joy and an honour to be developing this play with Quentin, and obviously quite an adventure. How lucky we are that one of the great storytellers of our time has chosen to make his theatrical debut."
Baron Cohen, 54, said he was "beyond delighted" to take the leading role. The actor and comedian, who created Borat and Ali G before establishing himself as a dramatic performer, has won two Baftas and three Golden Globes, and has been nominated for three Oscars and six Emmys.
The Production at a Glance
- The Popinjay Cavalier opens at the Phoenix Theatre in the West End on 18 March.
- Sacha Baron Cohen leads the cast in Quentin Tarantino's first stage play.
- Priority tickets go on sale on Monday at 9am, with the public sale from midday.
- Prices start at 25 pounds, with more than 16,000 tickets under 50 pounds.
- The comedy is set in 1830s Europe and produced by Sony Pictures Entertainment and Sonia Friedman Productions.
From the big screen to the boards
Tarantino has long spoken of his love of dialogue written for performance, and of a desire to work in theatre once his film career wound down. A stage debut was widely rumoured after he discussed his plans on his podcast, but the combination of the West End's most commercial producer, a major studio and a genuinely unpredictable leading man has taken even seasoned theatre-watchers by surprise.
Demand is expected to be ferocious when the booking window opens on Monday morning. Friedman, whose productions have dominated London theatre for two decades, has made access a selling point: tens of thousands of cheaper seats across the run are a deliberate answer to criticism that the West End has priced out ordinary audiences.
For Baron Cohen, the role is a rare stage appearance and a homecoming of sorts: a performer who built his career on disguise and deception, playing a part written for exactly those gifts, in the city where it all began.