Paddington: The Musical – a ‘funny, feel-good, family-friendly’ show

Paddington and the Browns on stage in a musical

The ‘wonderfully nimble’ Arti Shah brings the beloved bear to life

(Image credit: Johan Persson)

Paddington has travelled a long way since Michael Bond created him in 1958, said Sarah Crompton on What’s on Stage. After the vast success of the three films, it was perhaps inevitable that a musical would be next. What wasn’t inevitable is that Tom Fletcher (music and lyrics) and Jessica Swale (book) would “fashion a show so emotionally and tonally perfect that the entire audience is enraptured from the moment the bear steps on stage – and keeps cooing and oohing, laughing and sobbing, until the very end”. State-of-the-art animatronics, a stunning set, fabulous performances and witty songs about marmalade – all combine in a show that will “fill you with joy and melt your heart”, said Arifa Akbar in The Guardian. “Paddington” is the “new ‘Mary Poppins’: a well-known story imaginatively staged, immaculately performed and utterly winning”.

The bear himself, designed by Tahra Zafar, is “a triumph”, said Sarah Hemming in the Financial Times. “Endearing but not too cute, he has the slightly lived-in look of every favourite soft toy”, and is brilliantly brought to life by the “wonderfully nimble” Arti Shah, who wears the bear suit onstage – and James Hameed, who speaks and sings from offstage, while remotely controlling his facial movements. The result is a bear who is “astonishingly expressive”, said David Benedict in Variety. Other highlights of this “completely beguiling” show include Luke Sheppard’s direction; Victoria Hamilton-Barritt’s high-camp turn as the “arch-villainess” taxidermist Millicent Clyde; and Amy Booth-Steel, who wrings “every conceivable laugh” from a string of minor parts.

I’ll admit to some “rumbling reservations”, said Dominic Cavendish in The Daily Telegraph. It’s a little “overstuffed with songs”, and not as witty as the films. But the stronger second half convinced me that this “funny, feel-good, family-friendly musical” will “run and run”. Today’s West End is rammed with “ill-considered riffs on big-name franchises”, said Alice Saville in The Independent. But with “Paddington”, we’re finally getting a show “made with serious heart, dedication, and enough spectacular special effects to thrill its audiences”.