Paddington: The Musical

Paddington
The Musical
West End promotional poster
Music	Tom Fletcher
Lyrics	Tom Fletcher
Book	Jessica Swale
Basis	A Bear Called Paddington by Michael Bond StudioCanal's Paddington film series
Premiere	1 November 2025: Savoy Theatre
Productions	2025 West End

Paddington: The Musical is a musical with music and lyrics by Tom Fletcher and a book by Jessica Swale. It is based on the characters from Michael Bond's book series and StudioCanal's film series. It is also the second stage adaptation of the book series, following Shirlie Roden's 1983 musical Paddington Bear's Magical Musical . ^[1]

The musical premiered in previews at the Savoy Theatre in London's West End on 1 November 2025. ^[2]

Background

The musical is based around the character Paddington Bear, first created by Michael Bond in the 1958 novel A Bear Called Paddington. ^[3] Adapted from the novel ^[4] and the 2014 film Paddington ^[5] it has a book by Jessica Swale. ^[6]

The musical was directed by Luke Sheppard and developed by Sonia Friedman Productions, StudioCanal and Eliza Lumley Productions on behalf of Universal Music UK. ^{[7] [8]}

Productions

West End (2025–present)

In April 2025, it was announced that Paddington: The Musical would receive its world premiere in the West End at the Savoy Theatre from 1 November 2025. ^[9] On 21 August 2025, the initial casting and creative team were announced, with the exception of Paddington, which was to be revealed during the first preview. ^[10] During the first preview, it was announced that Arti Shah and James Hameed play the role of Paddington with Shah as the on-stage performer (with Abbie Purvis and Ali Sarebani as alternates) with Hameed performing off-stage as the voice and controlling Paddington's facial expressions. ^[11]

Cast and characters

Characters	West End
	2025
Paddington (on-stage)	Arti Shah
Young Man / Paddington (off-stage)	James Hameed
Mrs. Brown	Amy Ellen Richardson
Mr. Brown	Adrian Der Gregorian
Judy Brown	Delilah Bennett-Cardy
Jonathan Brown	Joseph Bramley Leo Collon Stevie Hare Jasper Rowse
Millicent Clyde	Victoria Hamilton-Barritt
Mrs. Bird	Bonnie Langford
Grant	Tarinn Callender
Mr. Gruber	Teddy Kempner
Mr. Curry	Tom Edden
Lady Sloane	Amy Booth-Steel
Tony	Timi Akinyosade
Tanya	Brenda Edwards

Musical numbers

Act I [12] "Mr Gruber's Curiosities" – Mr Gruber "I've Arrived" – Paddington "The Taxi Driver's Code" – Mr Curry & Jonathan Brown "Don't Touch That" – The Brown Family & Paddington "One Page At a Time" – Mrs Brown "Pretty Little Dead Things" – Millicent Clyde and Ensemble "The Rhythm of London" – Tanya & Ensemble "Hard Stare" – Paddington & Ensemble "The Explorer and the Bear" – Paddington "Risky Business" – Mr Brown & Ensemble "One Of Us" – Mrs. Brown & Ensemble "The Explorer and the Bear (Reprise)" – Paddington

Act II [12] "Marmalade" – Paddington & Mr Curry "Worth the Work" – Ensemble "Where's Paddington" – Ensemble "Everything You Never Were" – Millicent Clyde "It's Never Too Late" – Mrs Bird "Aunt Lucy's Prayer" "The Geographers Guild" – Ensemble "Unstoppable" "Missing Beat" "Dear Aunt Lucy" – Paddington & Ensemble

Recordings

Prior to the musical commencing previews the song "The Explorer and the Bear", performed by Tom Fletcher, ^[13] and "Pretty Little Dead Things", performed by Victoria Hamilton-Barritt were released by Decca Records. ^[14]

References

1. "Shirlie Roden » Paddington Bears Magical Musical" . Retrieved 24 April 2025.
2. Ritman, Alex (24 April 2025). "Paddington Musical to World Premiere on London's West End in November". Variety. Retrieved 24 April 2025.
3. "Paddington: Stage musical adapted from books and films set for 2025". bbc.co.uk. BBC Sport. 12 December 2023. Retrieved 20 November 2025.
4. "Paddington musical co-creator on 'magical' show". bbc.co.uk. BBC Sport. 3 November 2025. Retrieved 20 November 2025.
5. "Paws for applause: Paddington set to star in stage musical". theguardian.com. The Guardian. 12 December 2023. Retrieved 20 November 2025.
6. "Paddington The Musical cast recording and ticket lottery details announced". whatsonstage.com. Whats On Stage. 20 November 2025. Retrieved 20 November 2025.
7. Wiegand, Chris (12 December 2023). "Paws for applause: Paddington set to star in stage musical". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 December 2024.
8. Shafer, Ellise (12 December 2023). "'Paddington' Musical Adaptation in the Works". Variety. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
9. Bamigboye, Baz (24 April 2025). "Paddington The Musical Has Found a Home at London's Savoy Theatre, Will World Premiere In November". Deadline. Retrieved 24 April 2025.
10. Rook, Olivia (21 August 2025). "'Paddington The Musical' reveals principal West End cast". London Theatre. Retrieved 23 August 2025.
11. Wyver, Kate (1 November 2025). "Big belly, wavy fur and a nose for trouble: we exclusively reveal the new-look Paddington". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 2 November 2025.
12. Paddington The Musical Preview Programme, Paddington: The Musical, 1 November 2025, p. 30
13. "Paddington The Musical releases first listen to Tom Fletcher performing "Explorer and the Bear"". whatsonstage.com. WhatsOnStage.com. 26 September 2025. Retrieved 6 November 2025.
14. "Paddington The Musical releases new number performed by Victoria Hamilton-Barritt". whatsonstage.com. WhatsOnStage.com. 16 October 2025. Retrieved 6 November 2025.

External links

• Official website