A small bear makes a big entrance in 'Paddington The Musical'

Paddington is getting an all-singing, all-dancing theatrical debut in a brand new West End musical. The show’s creative team tell us how they brought this iconic character to the stage.

The most keenly anticipated theatrical opening in London this winter is the world premiere of Paddington The Musical at the Savoy Theatre. Inspired by Michael Bond’s beloved books and the award-winning StudioCanal movies, the show has a crack creative team: music by McFly star-turned-successful children’s author and composer Tom Fletcher, book by playwright Jessica Swale (Nell Gwynn), and direction by Luke Sheppard (& Juliet, Starlight Express).

Paddington also benefits from the steady hand of producers Eliza Lumley, who, as a performer, was in the original cast of Mamma Mia!, and has since headed up Universal Music’s theatre division, and Sonia Friedman, whose countless award-winning hits in the West End and on Broadway range from Merrily We Roll Along to Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. In fact, says Friedman, the thrill she feels at finally unveiling their Paddington to the world “reminds me of Harry Potter all those years ago. It’s been a secret for so long. We’re excited and nervous – we love this bear so deeply, and we hope audiences do too.”

Of course, the big question is: how are they putting Paddington on stage? That has remained a tantalising mystery. “We talked a lot about puppets, or perhaps casting children,” recalls Friedman. But the lightbulb moment came in 2019 when she and Lumley met with the Oscar-winning creature, special effects and make-up artist Neal Scanlan, who is renowned for his work on the Star Wars sequel trilogy. “He said to us ‘You can do something on stage that’s never, ever been done before,’” says Friedman.

That ground-breaking solution, what Friedman terms “remote puppetry”, has been brilliantly realised by the production’s ingenious Paddington bear designer Tahra Zafar; Scanlan, who had worked with Zafar previously, recommended her for this unique task. The team is completed by Audrey Brisson (bear physicality, associate director and additional puppetry), Phill Woodfine (Remote Puppetry Coach), Abbie Purvis and Ali Sarebani (alternate Paddington on stage performers), and Annabelle Davis (Paddington casting director).

Paddington is brought to life by two actors: vocal performer James Hameed provides his speaking and singing voice, while bear performer Arti Shah, who is under four feet, is inside Paddington. Instead of hiding how it all works, the process is demystified for audiences right at the start, says Friedman. “We show James giving Paddington his voice, and then he goes offstage and we follow Arti as Paddington.” But the two performers continue to work as a close-knit team, she adds. “They’ve learnt to breathe together.”

This felt right, explains Friedman, rather than taking the War Horse or Life of Pi approach, both of which she thought were wonderful, “because when Paddington arrives in London from Peru, he’s small, vulnerable and alone – that sense of isolation is important.”

Friedman says they knew they’d cracked it when they tried this version of Paddington in the workshop “and he made everybody burst into tears”. That’s really the key thing, says Lumley: “Once this big secret is revealed, and everyone has gasped and marvelled at how it’s done, they just accept that they’re watching Paddington and get lost in the story. He’s there on stage, exactly as you’d imagine him. It’s magical.”

For most of us, Paddington (and his marmalade sandwiches) has been a part of our lives for as long as we can remember. “He’s like the Beatles,” says Tom Fletcher. “I don’t know the first time I heard a Beatles song – I’ve just always loved them, and I’ve always loved Paddington.” The character won legions of new fans thanks to the gorgeous movie adaptations, which began in 2014 with Ben Whishaw voicing Paddington. “I’ve got three young boys, so the films were a big hit in our house,” says Fletcher. Luke Sheppard had all the books growing up, “and a cuddly toy bear that I went to bed with”. Similarly to Fletcher, he’s enjoyed seeing Paddington anew through the eyes of his nieces and nephews: “He’s been adopted by a whole new generation. But what’s brilliant about Paddington is that he’s a timeless spirit – he speaks to you no matter your age.”

That’s what excited Jessica Swale, she explains, when she was asked to write the book for the musical. “I love creating shows that speak to everyone from children up to grandparents. Very few stories have that universal appeal.” She likens working with the source material of the books and films to “making a cake when you’ve got a couple of ingredients, and you get to add more of your own”. So there are familiar story beats, including the most famous one: Paddington arriving at the station for which he is named, in search of a home, and being taken in by the Brown family.

But the musical also features plenty of new elements, Swale adds. “One of my favourite new characters is Lady Margaret Montague Sloane, played by the incredibly funny Amy Booth-Steel. We give Paddington and the Browns more neighbours too: we wanted to expand the world of Windsor Gardens.” London itself is also a character, says Swale, “in all its brilliant diversity. I live in Brixton: there are 36 languages spoken in our borough.” Sheppard echoes that sentiment, saying: “We were really keen to reflect the world that we live in today.”

As for Paddington himself, Swale observes that he’s “an unusual protagonist in that he means well all the time. Even when he gets into trouble or causes chaos, he’s trying to be helpful. So the story really becomes about how he changes the people around him.” It’s not dissimilar to Mary Poppins, or a classic Western with a stranger riding into town – except, crucially, “Paddington needs the Browns as much as they need him.”

Fletcher says he was “surprised and honoured” when he was asked to provide the show’s music and lyrics: “I know I’m the luckiest songwriter in the world to get to do this. But then I was a bit overwhelmed and scared, knowing that everyone has this ownership of Paddington. Some days when I was writing I felt like ‘I can absolutely do this’, and then 10 seconds later I had massive imposter syndrome.”

However, it’s important to note that while many people know Fletcher from his time in hit British band McFly, musicals were actually his first love – a passion he shared with his sister, renowned West End leading lady Carrie Hope Fletcher. “My whole childhood was musical theatre,” says Fletcher. “I was at Sylvia Young [Theatre School] from the age of eight to 16.” Fletcher performed in Oliver! at the London Palladium as a child – at the same time, astonishingly, as a young Sheppard. “Then the band happened and I ran away with that circus,” continues Fletcher. “But I always wanted to come back to theatre.”

His varied career has turned out to be the ideal preparation for Paddington: from writing songs for McFly to penning best-selling children’s books like The Dinosaur That Pooped Christmas and, most recently, developing musicals. The latter discipline is, he explains, “very different to pop songs in that it’s rooted in storytelling: where your character is at that moment, and what change you want to achieve from the beginning to the end of a song – and then sustaining that across 20 songs.”

Fletcher cites a variety of musical influences for Paddington, including Disney greats such as the Sherman Brothers, Alan Menken and Howard Ashman, as well as bands like Queen and the Beatles. “I also wanted to capture the sound of London, as we convey it in the show: this incredible melting pot. Different characters have different musical languages, and then we tie them all together, the way that London does.”

Handily, when pondering if his work would suit a family audience, the composer had a built-in focus group at home. “My kids, my wife [actress and author Giovanna Fletcher] and my sister have all sung on the demos,” chuckles Fletcher. He then had the extraordinary experience of hearing his songs performed by the show’s impressive cast, which includes Adrian Der Gregorian as Mr Brown, Amy Ellen Richardson as Mrs Brown, Bonnie Langford as housekeeper Mrs Bird, Tom Edden as Mr Curry, Teddy Kempner as Mr Gruber, Brenda Edwards as Tanya, Tarinn Callender as Grant and Victoria Hamilton-Barritt as the evil taxidermist Millicent Clyde.

“It was pretty overwhelming the first time I heard them singing my stuff back to me,” says Fletcher. “I cannot tell you how many times I’ve cried. Some songs I wrote thinking ‘I’m not sure if this will work’, then you put them into the hands of Bonnie Langford and she does amazing things!”

Lumley has high praise for the self-deprecating Fletcher, explaining: “His score has a wonderful pop sensibility – people want to hear contemporary music in the West End that they can relate to. But he’s also incorporated all these other styles and genres.” Friedman shares that there’s a “fun, crazy singalong song called ‘Marmalade’, which we think will become a classic. Then you’ve got gorgeous ballads like ‘The Explorer & the Bear’.”

As well as nailing that balance of tones – both entertaining and moving – Sheppard was determined that this version of Paddington would feel inherently theatrical. “I’m a theatre kid through and through, and I love that you can do things in this medium that you can’t do anywhere else,” he explains. So, for example, when Paddington gets into a pickle, “we can draw on our great vaudevillian tradition of slapstick and physical comedy”.

As for why Paddington is particularly well suited to being a musical, Swale says: “It’s such a massive, exhilarating adventure. He arrives on a boat from another country, turning up in this huge city as a tiny bear, and the stakes are so high – as are the buildings and the people, from his perspective! He’s in a city full of noise and joy and drama, with music in its bones.” In addition, she says, the main characters “are going through turmoil, and you can express things in a song that you would never say to anyone”.

Sheppard notes that there are vital messages here too. “Paddington is the eternal optimist. He reminds us to open our hearts to other people and treat them well. That’s a simple idea which can resonate in very great ways, and it feels particularly important right now.” Fletcher says: “One of my favourite lyrics in the show is ‘Kindness isn’t ever complicated’. We could all do with being a bit more Paddington.”

Given the universal love for the character, Sheppard hopes the musical is an opportunity to welcome in a broad range of theatregoers. “I fundamentally believe in this art form, and it will only continue if we open the door to new audiences.” Friedman describes this as a family show, one that she hopes young or first-time audiences will love, but still a sophisticated one: “It’s thoughtful about decency, tolerance, and understanding that people who don’t look like you also have the right to belong.” Lumley adds: “On one level it’s a story about a small furry bear having fun, crazy adventures, but there’s so much that’s relatable: it’s about trying to fit in, that eternal search for home, safety, and acceptance.” Friedman sums up: “This is probably the most special time of my producing life. Getting to put Paddington on stage is a gift I will always treasure.”

Book Paddington The Musical tickets on LondonTheatre.co.uk

This article first appeared in the November 2025 issue of London Theatre Magazine.

Photo credit: Paddington Bear. (Photo by Jay Brooks): Inset: Paddington, Victoria Hamilton-Barritt, the company of Paddington, Bonnie Langford, Brenda Edwards and Timi Akinyosade, and Teddy Kempner in rehearsals. (Photos by Isha Shah and Johan Persson)