When the first images of Paddington The Musical were released a few weeks ago, the mere sight of the little Peruvian bear in his new stage form was enough to bring half the country to tears. Well, the show is currently in previews and - without giving anything away at this early stage - already the Savoy Theatre is encountering a tsunami-level of eye water, and that’s just from this one correspondent. Word will soon be out, but between us, this show is pure magic, the height of theatrical entertainment and it may even change your life.
It certainly seems to be changing the life of Victoria Hamilton-Barritt, who plays the villain Millicent Clyde, and says, “We were aware that there was going to be a reaction when the bear was first revealed, but when you actually see it live... We've done so many workshop presentations to a room no bigger than say 50 people. You hear the response from 50 people seeing the bear for the first time. And then you put in the Savoy Theatre, and you hear those gasps and how people emote in that very moment.. we are there in the wings listening to that, trying to keep it together.
Rehearsals were so difficult and even now I get caught off guard because I'm the soppiest in the entire cast, which is totally ridiculous and ironic because I play the villain of the show. For me personally, my life and my career has been reaching to this moment of really feeling how impactful theatre can be first-hand.”
Ahead of the press night and the run starting properly, she is already aware of how big a cultural moment it is.
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“It's most certainly the biggest thing on scale that I've ever been part of in my career over the last 25 years,“ says the Grammy and Olivier-nominated musical theatre superstar, “I'm just so grateful to be involved. We always knew that we had something so special in this show and we just couldn't wait to share it. I mean for some of us it's been years we've been on board for this project. It’s been London’s biggest, best kept secret.”
And here is the thing, while the announcements around a Paddington musical are recent, it has of course been a long time in the making. While Paddington has retained a cosy approachability, as an entertainment entity the bear is up there with James Bond as the most successful and iconic British export - the late Queen notably shared screen time with both. Bringing Paddington to the West End simply had to happen.
“It was about two and half years ago that we started, at the American Church rehearsal room on Tottenham Court Road and various other rehearsal rooms, all around London. It's been a real process, so I've seen so many changes, so many new songs being written and put in, I've really been part of this development, process of what comes alive in this story.”
The NDAs and secrecy have been heavy and particularly hard for Hamilton-Barritt to contain.
“The back catalogue of Paddington is so mega, it's this big empire from the books starting in 1958 with Michael Bond, which is how I know Paddington when I was growing up. My father used to read me all the books as a child. So I am a big Paddington fan... I think I'm just so overwhelmed by all of this because I cannot believe I'm telling this story of this famous bear that I adored as a child and still do now. I mean I'm obsessed, I've got the bear, I've got the baseball cap, I’ve got everything Paddington... my husband might draw the line at a duvet cover.”
But that really is what Paddington represents to people, a familiarity borne from childhood and then again in parenthood, and a kind of innocence that this implies. Paddington’s real appeal is an essential appeal to our better selves. “I think it's just delving into nostalgia and comfort and familiarity. This bear has only ever brought goodness into this little world, and Paddington just draws on kindness. That's why these books were so brilliant for little kids, and it transfers to adults as well - I'm sure a lot of parents along the way have got their best parenting tips from those books. Remembering kindness and to be present and to listen and to give benefit of the doubt.”
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The show itself manages to mash up the lore of Paddington, combining elements of the books and all the films. Millicent Clyde was not in the books but was introduced in the first film and played by Nicole Kidman. Hamilton-Barritt was careful to stay clear of that portrayal and has created a very different, deliciously evil character.
“Within the films they felt that they needed that antagonist and the same thing applies to the stage show. You have to have the antagonist to shake things up a little bit, to raise the stakes.”
Hamilton-Barritt has a ball with this, in a powerhouse performance with some wicked lines to make audiences squeal, the kind of villain who you try to both cheer and boo at the same time.
“I tend to do a lot of character work, mostly comedy, so it's always great to bring the comedy element into the villain to kind of keep it soft around the edges and not one dimensional. I think s have to be able to understand why a villain is the way they are. No one's born evil, they're a product of their environment. I need to understand that on my own, before I check into Nicole Kidman's work too much. I haven't seen the film properly, purely because this was something that I needed to avoid. I'm still in previews, I've still got a bit of time to practice, I'm still listening in on the audiences.
As for the creation of Paddington himself, the mix of puppetry and robotics that have resulted in the musical Paddington which is breaking hearts. Hamilton-Barritt saw the development of the character first hand.
“I've already learnt so much about what I should be doing and what I shouldn't be doing as the role of Millicent Clyde.
“I think I was exposed to the bear pretty much fully formed, its entirety. There were just a few little aesthetic changes and animatronic expressions that have been introduced. It is very intricate. There’s the famous hard stare, the scrunching of the nose, the eyes, and, they, Thara [Zafar, Paddington and Puppet Design] has just done such an incredible thing with our bear. When I say our bear because this bear is everyone's bear because that's what seems to be the case as soon as they are exposed to this bear.”
Paddington is voiced off-stage by James Hameed and played onstage by Arti Shah, a quite exceptional combination.
“James is Paddington. That's the way James just naturally speaks. James sounds more like Paddington than Paddington. We're always calling him our little bear.
“And what he’s done alongside Arti Shah, seeing that evolve over the last couple of years as well and how they just have so much flow with one another and how they work and understand each other's brains... they’re so connected. They’re in each other’s brains.”
Hamilton-Barritt is enjoying the challenge of the run ahead, which in the preview stage has meant very long days and night as issues are ironed out. But the teamwork is the key part of it, “leaving the ego at home,” and sticking to the bigger picture, which involves making the show as good as it can be but also appreciating her own position.
“I have completely outdone myself. I never expected to be in these West End shows that I'm so fortunate and lucky to have been in the last 25 years. I'm still pinching myself. I think that's honestly just taking every day as it comes. I'm working with a bunch of people that are like-minded souls that are feeling the same things that I'm feeling and it really is the best experience in any working environment. We realise what we are part of.”
And the realisation is that “this is the biggest show in the whole world... I can confidently say that because it’s the truth!”
Indeed it is, and again we come back to the curious place with Paddington holds in the collective imagination, and what he represents for huge amounts of people.
“If you don't like Paddington, there's something terribly wrong with you,” Hamilton-Barritt laughs, “Because he's everything that's right about this world. He is what we should be listening to. He is every example of what we should be learning from. He just leads with love and leads with kindness. And in a world like this, it's so important to be able to be that person. It's very easy to be angry, it's very easy to make bad choices. It's much more difficult to make those right choices, but it will always make us the better person.”
And then there is Paddington as somebody who brings people together, which the very nature of a theatre show truly brings to life.
“I think what it is with Paddington, it's community. We aren't really lone wolves. Maybe some of us tend to feel that we are a lone wolf, but traditionally we are pack animals. We need community. And it's a very important part of our mental health and our wellbeing. People that live the longest are those who tend to have community around them. I think that's something that we can forget because our lives have become so busy and we've made things quite difficult for ourselves. We always need to draw back to community, because that is really what creates inner happiness.”
So there you go, prepare to see the bear and prepare to see the light...
Paddington The Musical opens at the Savoy Theatre on Sunday, 30 November, with previews during November, and is currently booking until 25 May 2026.
