Paddington The Musical – VIPs ask the questions on West End opening night

Perhaps one of the most hotly anticipated shows of the entire year, the West End celebrated the official opening of Paddington The Musical last night.

Crowds of VIPs, industry heavyweights and theatregoers gathered at the Savoy Theatre for this world premiere production, described as “so emotionally and tonally perfect” by WhatsOnStage lead critic Sarah Crompton in her glowing, five-star review.

We decided to let the familiar faces in attendance pose the questions yesterday and the principal cast gladly answered them at the show’s afterparty at the gargantuan Freemasons’ Hall.

Check out all the highlights below:

Paddington The Musical features a score by Tom Fletcher and a book by Jessica Swale, and is directed by Luke Sheppard. It is based on A Bear Called Paddington by Michael Bond and the film Paddington, by special arrangement with StudioCanal.

The full cast includes James Hameed (Young Man / Paddington off-stage performer and remote puppeteer), Arti Shah (Paddington on-stage performer), Timi Akinyosade (Tony), Amy Booth-Steel (Lady Sloane), Tarinn Callender (Grant), Delilah Bennett-Cardy (Judy Brown), Adrian Der Gregorian (Mr Brown), Tom Edden (Mr Curry), Brenda Edwards (Tanya), Amy Ellen Richardson (Mrs Brown), Victoria Hamilton-Barritt (Millicent Clyde), Teddy Kempner (Mr Gruber), and Bonnie Langford (Mrs Bird), with Joseph Bramley, Leo Collon, Stevie Hare and Jasper Rowse sharing the role of Jonathan Brown, and alternate Paddington on-stage performers Abbie Purvis and Ali Sarebani.

The ensemble includes Esme Bacalla-Hayes, Tiago Dhondt Bamberger, David Birch, Aimée Fisher, Jacqueline Hughes, Kellianna Jay, Sam Lathwood, Natasha Leaver, Katie Lee, Sunny Lee, Vicki Lee Taylor, Jáiden Lodge, Andilé Mabhena, Rose Mary O’Reilly, Ben Redfern, Hugo Rolland, Simon Shorten, and Hassan Taj.

The team responsible for the bear includes Tahra Zafar (Paddington bear designer), Audrey Brisson (Bear physicality associate director), Phill Woodfine (remote puppetry coach), and Annabelle Davis (Paddington bear casting director).

The creative team also includes Matt Brind (musical supervisor, orchestrations and arrangements), Ellen Kane (choreographer), Tom Pye (scenic designer), Gabriella Slade (costume designer), Tahra Zafar (Paddington Bear designer), Neil Austin (lighting designer), Gareth Owen (sound designer), Ash J Woodward (video designer and animation), Campbell Young Associates (hair, wig and make-up designer), Majid Adin (illustration and additional animation), Laura Bangay (musical director), Natalie Gallacher for Pippa Ailion and Natalie Gallacher Casting (casting director), Nick Hockaday (young persons’ casting director), Davis (Paddington casting director), Javier Marzan (physical comedy consultant), Tobago Crusoe and Felix Ruiz (additional music consultants).

Paddington books, beginning with A Bear Called Paddington in 1958, have sold over 35 million copies worldwide. Paddington has been adapted for television by the BBC and in the Emmy Award-winning series The Adventures of Paddington by StudioCanal. StudioCanal has also produced three films: Paddington (2014), Paddington 2 (2017), and Paddington in Peru (2024).

The production is currently booking until 25 October 2026.