UPDATED with official statements and dates: Producers of Quentin Tarantino’s play Rider Popinjay today confirmed what Deadline reported a month ago: Sacha Baron Cohen will star in the director’s first play, which will premiere in the West End next spring.
The location and opening date have also been revealed. Previews begin on February 23 and production begins on March 18 at the Phoenix Theater in London.
According to an announcement on the game’s website, tickets will go on sale tomorrow with priority access starting at 9:00 BST and the GP kicking off at 12:00 BST.
Baron Cohen, who like Tarantino will make his West End debut with the project, said in a statement: “Quentin called, I said yes before he could even say his first ‘motherfxxxer’. When the best director in the world calls you don’t ask questions, I’m more than happy for us to lose our virginity together in the West End, I made him promise not to be gentle.
The remaining cast has not yet been revealed.
As Deadline reported in March, the new play, produced by Sonia Friedman Productions and Sony Pictures Entertainment, will be a “swaggering comedy” set in 1830s Europe.
Tom Rothman, chairman and CEO of Sony Pictures Entertainment’s Motion Picture Group, and Friedman said in a joint statement: “It is a joy and an honor to develop this play with Quentin – and obviously quite an adventure. How fortunate we are that one of the great storytellers of our time has chosen to make his theatrical debut.”
“Seeing Quentin in action in a rehearsal room is extraordinary. His enjoyment of working with the actors, fencers, acrobats, musicians and our creative team is contagious, and there is such pleasure in hearing his delicious language come to life and discovering what his world can become on stage.
“And now we have Sacha Baron Cohen at the heart of it all: a fearless and brilliantly inventive actor with the wit, playfulness and daring that this role demands. We feel immensely fortunate to produce this show. Audiences are in for a huge treat.”
PREVIOUSLY on September 10: Sacha Baron Cohen to star in upcoming West End production of Quentin Tarantino’s play Rider PopinjayDeadline hears.
According to sources close to the project, Cohen will play the title character when Rider Popinjay lands at an as-yet-undisclosed West End location in spring 2027.
As Deadline reported in March, the new play, produced by Sonia Friedman Productions and Sony Pictures Entertainment, will be a “swaggering comedy” set in 1830s Europe.
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The synopsis: “Rider Popinjay is a turbulent comedy of deception and disguise inspired by the great swaggering epics of stage and screen. A sweeping celebration of theater and its heightened romance, told with Tarantino’s signature style and incomparable wit.
Sonia Friedman Productions credits include Paddington: The Musical And Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.
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Tarantino revealed last year that he was working on a stage play. At the time, he said, “The play is written. It’s absolutely the next thing I’m going to do. We’ll start the ball rolling in January. … It’s probably going to take up a year and a half to two years of my life.”
Zac Ntim contributed to this report.
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