Sacha Baron Cohen is set to lead Quentin Tarantino’s the popinjay cavalier, and the production has fixed its West End run for early 2027. The title role will anchor Tarantino’s first stage work at the Phoenix Theatre in London, with previews starting on 23 February 2027.
Cohen said, “Quentin called, I said yes before he even got to say his first ‘motherfxxxer’. When the best director in the world calls, you don’t ask questions, I am beyond delighted that we will be losing our West End virginity together, I have made him promise not to be gentle.” That line does the marketing work for the show in one hit: a screen star, a first-time playwright, and a play selling itself on the collision between Tarantino’s language and West End booking.
23 February 2027 at Phoenix Theatre
The production will open on 18 March 2027 and remain on sale until 13 June 2027. Tickets start at £25, and more than 16,000 seats are available for under £50 across the run, which gives the production a relatively wide price ladder for a new title from a first-time stage writer.
Tom Rothman and Sonia Friedman said they are developing the play with Tarantino, and the material is set in 1830s Europe. It is described as a comedy of deception and disguise inspired by swashbuckling epics of stage and screen, with the classic Hollywood swashbuckler genre feeding the story rather than replacing it.
Sonia Friedman Productions team
The creative team already includes Tom Pye, Natasha Chivers, Ian Dickinson, Philip d'Orleans, Sam Lyon-Behan, Tim Phillips and Jim Carnahan. That is a substantial build for a new play, and it suggests the production is being mounted as a full commercial event rather than a small experiment.
Further star casting will be announced in due course, so the title role is not the only decision still to land. For now, the clearest takeaway is that Tarantino’s first stage writing project has moved from concept to dated West End booking, with Cohen carrying the commercial weight of the launch.
