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. This production marks the Hollywood director’s first work written for the stage, which he will also direct.

The play will debut at the Phoenix Theatre in London’s West End on 18 March 2027. Tickets go on sale on Monday. Tarantino, 63, known for films such as Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, and Once Upon A Time In Hollywood, expressed his excitement, stating he is "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 refers to a cavalryman or courteous gentleman. Baron Cohen remarked, "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 described as a "rambunctious comedy of deception and disguise inspired by the grand swashbuckling epics of stage and screen". The play draws inspiration from the classic swashbuckler genre of old Hollywood, including the writings of George Bruce, Ernst Vajda, and Jesse Lasky Jr.