The Spy Who Came In From The Cold Festival Theatre Edinburgh 21st April 2026 Review
"The Spy Who Came in From the Cold" is at the Festival Theatre Edinburgh this week (Tue 21 - Sat 25 April). Finally, after a wait of more than 60 years, a novel by John le Carré has been adapted for the stage and judging from the audience reaction tonight, it has been worth the wait.
Why David John Moore Cornwell (19 October 1931 – 12 December 2020), better known to millions of readers across the world by his pen name John le Carré, took so long to approve any of his work for theatrical production is a story in itself, but finally it has happened, and "The Spy Who Came in From the Cold" is here.
The novels of John le Carré have sold in their many millions and he is regarded as one of the most important authors of the 20th century, but taking the in-depth plot of an espionage story with all of its twists and turns and bringing that to a stage production was always going to be a difficult task for anyone. The relatively small time allowed for a stage production requires the complex to some extent be simplified to the basics without losing any of the core narrative. Here, David Eldridge (adaptor) and Jeremy Herrin (Director) have achieved just that.
John le Carré and his estate were clearly always going to be very selective about who they were going to allow to bring this classic novel to the stage, and one look at the programme notes tells you why this team were chosen; their work to date is extensive and highly successful. Many of the other talents, on stage and off-stage, involved in this production are hugely experienced in their respective fields.
By its very nature, "The Spy Who Came in From the Cold" is a narrative driven work, and delivering the bulk of this is Ralf Little as Alex Leamas, the now weary with his life spy who wants to "come in from the cold". Unfortunately, his superior, the spy master known only as Control (Nicholas Murchie) and the always somewhere in the shadows, George Smiley (Tony Turner) have other plans for him, one last job, one that they know he will be unlikely to refuse. Thrown into this world of smoke and mirrors, double agents, is the unsuspecting politically idealistic, but naive Liz Gold (Grainne Dromgoole).
The overall mood for this production is dark, this is a place of shadows, and production designer Max Jones and lighting designer Azusa Ono have with their visuals done much to establish the world that Alex Leamas operates in. Sound designer Elizabeth Purnell and composer Paul Englishby have also, with often very subtle work, added much to the atmosphere of this work.
On centre stage as you enter the theatre is a bicycle that has clearly been in some sort of accident with its front wheel ominously still spinning. The significance of this becomes clear very soon. The stage itself is a world map, the 1960s Western countries and Soviet Eastern bloc, a bit like a giant board game upon which our players perform their roles, a bit like chess pieces. Sadly, this visual would only have really been clearly visible from the dress circle of the theatre and not the main auditorium. Very soon, Alex Leamas enters to centre stage and introduces the audience not only to himself, but to the main players in his world of spies, East and West.
The character of Alex Leamas is a complex one, and you get the feeling that after so long pretending to be someone else, he has almost forgotten who he ever was to begin with, and Ralf Little gives a fine performance here of a man who has just simply become tired of the whole charade which somehow he just wants to stop.
There are no big performance moments here from anyone. This is simply a work where everyone is bringing their respective character to life in an often understated way, but collectively they create a space that pulls the audience right into the story, one where you want to hear the next word from everyone.
"The Spy Who Came in From the Cold" is not an easy sit back and watch night at the theatre, it is one where you have to pay attention to everything that is going on, but it is well worth the effort of doing so and allowing yourself to be taken into this very grey world where moralities are questioned and even the lines of what is right and what is wrong are often crossed to achieve the end goal.
Review by Tom King (c) 2026
www.artsreviewsedinburgh.com
Why David John Moore Cornwell (19 October 1931 – 12 December 2020), better known to millions of readers across the world by his pen name John le Carré, took so long to approve any of his work for theatrical production is a story in itself, but finally it has happened, and "The Spy Who Came in From the Cold" is here.
The novels of John le Carré have sold in their many millions and he is regarded as one of the most important authors of the 20th century, but taking the in-depth plot of an espionage story with all of its twists and turns and bringing that to a stage production was always going to be a difficult task for anyone. The relatively small time allowed for a stage production requires the complex to some extent be simplified to the basics without losing any of the core narrative. Here, David Eldridge (adaptor) and Jeremy Herrin (Director) have achieved just that.
John le Carré and his estate were clearly always going to be very selective about who they were going to allow to bring this classic novel to the stage, and one look at the programme notes tells you why this team were chosen; their work to date is extensive and highly successful. Many of the other talents, on stage and off-stage, involved in this production are hugely experienced in their respective fields.
By its very nature, "The Spy Who Came in From the Cold" is a narrative driven work, and delivering the bulk of this is Ralf Little as Alex Leamas, the now weary with his life spy who wants to "come in from the cold". Unfortunately, his superior, the spy master known only as Control (Nicholas Murchie) and the always somewhere in the shadows, George Smiley (Tony Turner) have other plans for him, one last job, one that they know he will be unlikely to refuse. Thrown into this world of smoke and mirrors, double agents, is the unsuspecting politically idealistic, but naive Liz Gold (Grainne Dromgoole).
The overall mood for this production is dark, this is a place of shadows, and production designer Max Jones and lighting designer Azusa Ono have with their visuals done much to establish the world that Alex Leamas operates in. Sound designer Elizabeth Purnell and composer Paul Englishby have also, with often very subtle work, added much to the atmosphere of this work.
On centre stage as you enter the theatre is a bicycle that has clearly been in some sort of accident with its front wheel ominously still spinning. The significance of this becomes clear very soon. The stage itself is a world map, the 1960s Western countries and Soviet Eastern bloc, a bit like a giant board game upon which our players perform their roles, a bit like chess pieces. Sadly, this visual would only have really been clearly visible from the dress circle of the theatre and not the main auditorium. Very soon, Alex Leamas enters to centre stage and introduces the audience not only to himself, but to the main players in his world of spies, East and West.
The character of Alex Leamas is a complex one, and you get the feeling that after so long pretending to be someone else, he has almost forgotten who he ever was to begin with, and Ralf Little gives a fine performance here of a man who has just simply become tired of the whole charade which somehow he just wants to stop.
There are no big performance moments here from anyone. This is simply a work where everyone is bringing their respective character to life in an often understated way, but collectively they create a space that pulls the audience right into the story, one where you want to hear the next word from everyone.
"The Spy Who Came in From the Cold" is not an easy sit back and watch night at the theatre, it is one where you have to pay attention to everything that is going on, but it is well worth the effort of doing so and allowing yourself to be taken into this very grey world where moralities are questioned and even the lines of what is right and what is wrong are often crossed to achieve the end goal.
Review by Tom King (c) 2026
www.artsreviewsedinburgh.com