Overview

All cats are alike in the dark. For the first time ever, a novel by John le Carré is brought to life in a thrilling stage adaptation by award-winning playwright David Eldridge (Beginning, Middle & End). Alec Leamas is ready to come in from the cold but when Control, the Head of the British Secret Intelligence Service, presents one final mission he agrees to stay in the game. However, Leamas has committed a cardinal error: he’s fallen in love. And what is veteran spymaster George Smiley’s role in the operation? After a lifetime of deception and betrayal, can there be room for humanity in the ruthlessly manipulative world of international espionage? Following a sold-out run at Chichester Festival Theatre, this edition was published to coincide with the West End premiere production at @sohoplace in November 2025.

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9781350618305

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Reviews

A tense, gripping adaptation with moody flair * Financial Times * A tense, atmospheric production * Daily Mail * This slick and stylish production is meticulously mounted by Jeremy Herrin * The i *

Author Information

John le Carré’s work has come to define not only the best of spy fiction but the very colour of our times. An insightful observer of the human condition and contemporary geopolitics alike, le Carré’s novels are exciting, thought-provoking and touch on both eternal truths and deeply felt issues of the moment. From his breakout 1963 novel The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, to 2017’s best-selling A Legacy of Spies, le Carré’s timeless works have endured and continue to be critically acclaimed and loved by audiences around the world. Le Carré’s twenty-six books have been published in over 50 countries and 40 languages. David Eldridge's theatre credits include: Market Boy (Olivier Theatre, National Theatre); Holy Warriors (Shakespeare’s Globe); Miss Julie, The Lady from the Sea (Royal Exchange, Manchester); In Basildon, Incomplete and Random Acts of Kindness, Under the Blue Sky (Royal Court & West End); Something, Someone, Somewhere (Sixty-Six Books/Bush Theatre); MAD, Serving it Up (Bush); The Knot of the Heart (Almeida), Festen (Almeida, Lyric West End & Broadway); The Stock Da'wa, Falling (Hampstead); A Thousand Stars Explode in the Sky (with Robert Holman & Simon Stephens, Lyric Hammersmith); Babylone (Belgrade Coventry); John Gabriel Borkman, The Wild Duck, Summer Begins (Donmar Warehouse); A Week With Tony, Fighting for Breath (Finborough); Thanks Mum (Red Room); Dirty (Theatre Royal Stratford East); Cabbage for, Tea, Tea, Tea! (Platform 4 Exeter).

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