This particular theatre trip has been a long time in the making. So long, in fact, that Roo and I have had three trips to Paddington station since booking the tickets. In fact, Roo and I have had three trips to Paddington station in the last month but that’s a whole other blog post in the making.
Still, got to meet this fella who has a clearly well-booped snoot:
I actually booked back in December for Nana’s Christmas present. She has been extremely patient to wait until July but it just shows what a popular show this is….if we’d held out for a Saturday instead of a Sunday it might have been Christmas again before we got to see it.
But was it worth the hype? That’s a good question and we’ll get there in a little bit, I promise.
First tho a sunny day wander from Waterloo to the Strand, via the giant mural of..well, yes him again:
In case you’re wondering why we’re all clutching tiny cans of Coke, the answer is that we got given them free outside the station. I know, I was impressed too!
It thankfully wasn’t quite as oppressively hot as it has been lately, otherwise we might not have attempted the walk. There was a bit of chaos around the Southbank Centre tho, as two separate lifts were both out of order and VK and I lost the rest of the group. Don’t worry tho, we eventually found them again at Embankment station.
From there it was an airy stroll through Victoria Embankment Gardens, where I leaned in towards the sprinkler for a light spritz and got a full-face blatto. It was actually quite refreshing.We cut up Carting Lane, along the side of the theatre and went for lunch at a frequent haunt of ours, Honest Burger Covent Garden. So frequent that it had been mere hours since VK and Nathan last visited. Luckily different staff were on shift, so no one was shaming them for ODing on Rosemary Fries.
We were very well placed for the theatre and would have had loads of time if it hadn’t been for the giant queue to get in, which stretched right round the corner. It moved quickly though, so we got in before too long. And we got to see the only street in the UK where traffic drives on the right:
We also spotted London’s last sewage lamp but I know that’s probably of *niche* interest:
So once we got through the queue, we had enough time to find our seats, buy a programme and lose VK’s phone before the show started. I had been worried about the restricted view and the climb to the Grand Circle but these were both unfounded as the stage is sunken so the Circles are more or less on street level. And the view was just fine:
Not my kid’s feet in this picture by the way. And yes, we did retrieve my kid’s phone.
Also just to note that I’m currently blogging from my phone as my laptop is in the laptop hospital. I have a 15 year streak for monthly blogs as of tomorrow and I’m not about to let a little tech fail stop me. But it probably means the images are all weirdly sized and unfiltered. I’ll go back and sort them out at some point, I promise.
Anyway, onto the show! You’ve probably heard already that it’s wondrous and whimsical and – spoiler – I’m not going to be saying anything very different to that. It was a very lovely show and surprisingly true to the original characters. There were parts where I could see there might have been a temptation to politicise the inclusivity message but they never went too far in that direction. The result was a heartwarming story about how everyone is welcome in London without shoehorning 2026 politics into it.
On that point tho, I did find it hard at first to place what era this was set in. The Browns’ house was very 70s in design and so were their clothes. But then there were references to the Multiverse of Madness and a picture of the Gherkin, so I assume it’s meant to be modern day but with a retro feel, which is about right for “Paddington”.
And what of the bear himself? Well, I’d seen the promotional pictures which reassured me that they’d made a very sweet version of him, rather than the nightmare fuel that comes with some reimaginings (Sonic the Hedgehog, anyone?). It’s a very clever idea, where there is a physical performer in the bear suit (Arti Shah) and then a second actor offstage providing the voice and remote controlling the facial expressions (James Hameed). It’s a magical combination that allows Paddington to move freely around the stage but also emote. This is such an important part to get right as, if they didn’t, the whole show would be dragged down. I’m pleased to say, though, the bear was spot on and every bit as adorable as his book version.
There is a huge cast and I’m typing on my phone so I’m not going to name them all but they work well as an ensemble and the Brown family especially blend beautifully when they sing, giving a real sense of family. A couple of standout turns are former Persephone Victoria Hamilton-Barritt as the “iconic but evil” Millicent Clyde and the legendary Bonnie Langford as “just plain iconic” Mrs Bird. The latter has a song in the second half which says “it’s never too late to steal the show” and she proceeds to do just that, showing off the high kicks that got her so far on The Masked Dancer.
I’m probably doing the rest of the cast a disservice by not naming them individually but honestly, there wasn’t a single misplaced performance among them. The Browns’ neighbours, Tony and Tanya (Timi Akinyosade and Brenda Edwards) brought a lot of warmth to the show, especially with the song “The Rhythm of London”. It was in stark contrast to the opening scenes, where Paddington is shouted at to get out of the way and I liked that they showed both sides of London – the hectic busyness and the camaraderie as they do genuinely exist side-by-side. I also enjoyed the announcements in the station scene, as someone who has been subject to many, many GWR delays in the last few weeks.
I should also say that the sets are magnificent and changes happen almost imperceptibly. One of my favourite backdrops was the Natural History Museum because of how accurate it was to real life. There was also a Windsor Gardens backdrop that had me staring for ages, trying to work out whether it was 3D or not. Yes gentle readers, I have been perplexed by perspective.
There’s also great use of video, with the screens at the sides being used to create a comic strip, a jungle and the London skyline. The stage design is just beautifully done.
A quick word on the age suitability of the show as there were many weeny ones around us. It’s very much a family show but it’s also a full length production and probably not something I would have attempted with a wriggly toddler. It’s probably fine for primary school age and upwards but it has some very real moments of peril, which had the teens tensing, so that might be worth considering if you have a sensitive child. Nana reminded us that a 5-year-old Reuben was terrified of the film version back in 2014 and I don’t think VK would have coped with the intensity of this until she was maybe 10ish. But yknow, she is the extreme end of the sensitive empathy scale so don’t take that as typical. There are also a few panto-style adult gags but they will go over the heads of littlies so I wouldn’t worry about those from a content POV.
None of that detracts from my main point tho, which is to say that this is an utterly charming and lovely show. The plot is simple, the songs are catchy and they made a whole marmalade sandwich costume just for a throwaway gag. That’s commitment to your entertainment.
I imagine it’s still booked up years in advance so if you do want to see it, don’t hang about. I promise you it’s worth the wait.
