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.

Tarantino, 63, who is best known for films including Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction and Once Upon A Time In Hollywood, said he was “keen with anticipation to give the West End a great night out”.

A popinjay is defined as “a vain, foppish or conceited person”, while a cavalier is a cavalryman or courteous gentleman.

Baron Cohen added: “Quentin called, I said yes before he even got to say his first ‘motherfucker’. 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.”

Set in 1830s Europe, The Popinjay Cavalier 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.”

Tarantino made his directorial debut in 1992 with Reservoir Dogs, before co-writing, directing and acting in Pulp Fiction, which saw him pick up his first Oscar for best screenplay.

He went on to direct Jackie Brown, Kill Bill Volume 1 and Volume 2, Death Proof, Inglourious Basterds, Django Unchained, The Hateful Eight, and Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood.

Throughout his career he has won two Academy Awards, two Baftas and four Golden Globes. He has also been nominated for an Emmy and five Grammys.

Meanwhile Baron Cohen is best known for creating and playing comic characters including Ali G, Borat Sagdiyev and Brüno Gehard.

The 54-year-old has won two Baftas and three Golden Globes, as well as being nominated for three Oscars and six Emmys. He has not yet had a leading role in a major stage production. He trained with the French clown guru Philippe Gaulier.

Tarantino first revealed his plans to stage a play in 2025, saying on the Church of Tarantino podcast it was “all written”.

“I’m preparing for it to be a success. If it’s a flop, I’ll be done very quickly,” he said.

Tickets for The Popinjay Cavalier are on sale from 9am BST on Monday to those who signed up for priority access, with a public sale from 12pm.

Tickets start at £25, with more than 16,000 tickets priced at under £50 across the run.