Sacha Baron Cohen to star in Quentin Tarantino's West End play — SkimNews
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- Sacha Baron Cohen, 54, will star in "The Popinjay Cavalier," a play set in 1830s Europe that Tarantino wrote and announced earlier this year as "a rambunctious comedy of deception and disguise inspired by the grand swashbuckling epics of stage and screen."
- The play premieres at the Phoenix Theatre on 18 March 2027, with tickets starting from £25 and going on sale Monday; the production is co-produced by Sony Pictures Entertainment and Sonia Friedman Productions, the company behind "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child" and "Paddington the Musical."
- Tarantino, 63, will direct and told the Church of Tarantino podcast the play is "all written" and "absolutely the next thing I'm going to do," estimating it would take "a year and a half to two years of my life" including a potential tour.
- Tarantino has said he plans to retire from filmmaking after 10 films and has so far made nine — counting Kill Bill Volumes One and Two together — with two Oscars for writing "Pulp Fiction" and "Django Unchained."
- The director told the podcast he would "more than likely move to England and bring my family with me" while working on the play; he currently resides in Tel Aviv with his wife Daniella Pick and their two children.
- The full cast for "The Popinjay Cavalier" is planned to be announced at a later date; Baron Cohen said he was "beyond delighted" to be working with Tarantino, adding: "When the best director in the world calls, you don't ask questions."
Why it matters: Tarantino has publicly committed to retiring after his 10th film and has made nine (counting the Kill Bill duo as one), so a 1.5–2 year stage commitment effectively becomes the bridge between his film career and its end. His stated plan to relocate his family from Tel Aviv to London during the run signals this is more than a one-off experiment — it repositions his working life around the West End for the foreseeable future.
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