Sacha Baron Cohen to star in Quentin Tarantino’s West End play The Popinjay Cavalier

Sacha Baron Cohen will headline Quentin Tarantino's play The Popinjay Cavalier when it premieres on the West End in London in March 2027. The production marks the Hollywood director's first work written for the stage – which he will also direct. Premiering at the Phoenix theatre in London's West End on 18 March 2027, tickets go on sale on Monday.

The play, set in 1830s Europe, has been billed as a

rambunctious comedy of deception and disguise inspired by the grand swashbuckling epics of stage and screen

It was inspired by the classic swashbuckler genre of old Hollywood, including the writings of George Bruce, Ernst Vajda and Jesse Lasky Jr.

Full casting will be announced at a later date. Sony Pictures Entertainment and Sonia Friedman Productions are producing the play. Tom Rothman, the chairman and chief executive of Sony Pictures Entertainment's Motion Picture Group, and Friedman, said:

It is a joy and an honour to be developing this play with Quentin – and obviously quite an adventure. How lucky we are that one of the great storytellers of our time has chosen to make his theatrical debut. “To see Quentin in action in a rehearsal room is extraordinary. His delight in working with actors, fencers, acrobats, musicians and our creative team is infectious, and there is such pleasure in hearing his delicious language come alive and discovering what his world can become on stage. “And now we have Sacha Baron Cohen at the heart of it all: a fearless, brilliantly inventive actor with the wit, mischief and daring this role demands. We feel immensely fortunate to be producing this show. Audiences are in for a tremendous treat.”