‘Paddington The Musical’ wows, winning nine awards and the show delivers on family entertainment *****
It is a story that has captured the imagination of millions worldwide. A lone bear arriving from the forest of Peru to a London railway station and with a note pinned to its lapel…
“Please look after this bear.”
Read our review below too…
By Suman Bhuchar
AND SO THE LEGEND of Paddington is born. Now, ‘Paddington The Musical’ has created musical theatre history by scooping nine awards at 26th annual What’s On Stage Awards held at the London Palladium on Sunday, March 8. Along with the awards, audiences were treated to musical numbers from shows.
The awards for ‘Paddington The Musical’ are:-
- Best New Musical Award for Tom Fletcher (music and lyrics) and Jessica Swale (book). Incidentally, Fletcher is a founder member of the band McFly and a well-known children’s author.
- Best Direction for Luke Sheppard
- Best Costume Designer for Gabriella Slade (costume design) and Tahra Zafar (Paddington & Puppet Designer)
- Best Musical Supervision /Direction for Matt Brind
- Best Professional Debut Performance for Timi Akinyosade (he plays Tony who becomes Judy Brown’s boyfriend).
- Best Sound Design for Gareth Owen
- Best Wigs, Hair and Make-Up Design – Campbell Young Associates
- Best Set Design for Tom Pye
- Best Casting Direction for Natalie Gallacher CDG for Pippa Ailion and Natalie Gallacher Casting, Nick Hockaday and Annabelle Davis
The show had 14 nominations across all categories and they included Best Performer in a Musical, for James Hameed, who is the voice of Paddington and remote puppeteer and Arti Shah, who is the main performer of the bear on stage and Best Supporting Performer in a musical for Victoria Hamilton-Barritt (who plays the villain, Millicent Clyde). The other nominations were in technical categories. ‘Paddington The Musical’ equalled the same number of awards as the stage production, ‘Harry Potter and the Cursed Child’ (2016) and ‘Miss Saigon’ (2014) – the most for any musical.
The awards are run by whatsonstage.com a leading consumer theatre website and these awards are voted on by the public.
A full list of winners and nominees of the What’s on Stage Awards can be seen on the link below
https://www.whatsonstage.com/news/26th-annual-whatsonstage-awards-winners-in-full-updating-live_1714093/
Lot to enjoy in this charming and family friendly show
‘PADDINGTON THE MUSICAL’ is currently playing at the Savoy Theatre in London’s West End, featuring songs, amazing choreography, visually stunning lighting, animation and designs along – with marmalade sandwiches.
Created by the late Michael Bond – who celebrated his 100th birth anniversary in January 2026 – ‘A Bear Called Paddington’, was published in 1958 by Collins (later Harper Collins) and was the first of 29 books about Paddington which have sold over 35 million copies worldwide.
Bond was inspired by the evacuees and children of the Kindertransport* and his overall aim of the story was to treat refugees with kindness and compassion – a message lost over time!
‘Paddington The Musical’ is based on characters from the book and inspired by the 2014 film.
The show begins with a young man (James Hameed) who strolls into Mr Gruber’s curiosity shop and picks up a stuffed bear. Then Mr Gruber (Teddy Kempner) begins to tell us the story and then we segue into the arrival of the bear at Paddington station.
Paddington the Bear was sent to London by his Aunt Lucy as there was an earthquake in Peru and she was no longer able to look after him because she moved to the home of retired bears.
Paddington comes to London because once upon a time an explorer from this city went into the Jungles of Peru and was so impressed by the intelligence of said animals he didn’t kill and stuff them.
Instead, the explorer bonded with Aunt Lucy and gave her the distinctive red hat – associated with Paddington – and promised he would be there for them in need. However, Paddington doesn’t know his name.
He is taken in by the Brown family where he meets the children – Judy and Jonathan and generally creates chaos as he tries to explore everything he touches. Bonnie Langford plays Mrs Bird, the Brown family housekeeper.
In his search for the explorer, Paddington learns about London life through a visually stunning sequence and song ‘The Rhythm of London’.
He ends up meeting the explorer’s daughter, Millicent Clyde, who is now a taxidermist and wants to stuff a bear to add to her collection of ‘Pretty Little Dead Things’ – a brilliant song.
There is a lot to enjoy in this feel good, charming and family friendly show – from the lively songs to the superb animatronics that power our bear and the dramatic scenic design.
The sets are by Tom Pye with costume by Gabrielle Slade and video design and animation by Ash J Woodward.
Together, they create a rich and visual world on the stage, such as the curiosity shop, the marmalade making factory and natural history museum are memorable. On the night acv saw the show, it was Abbie Purvis who appeared as Paddington with Hameed as the voice and remote puppeteer.
‘Paddington The Musical’ is produced by Sonia Friedman Productions, Studio Canal and Eliza Lumley Productions on behalf of Universal Music UK
The show is pretty sold out but is booking until May 30 next year (2027), so we encourage you to book ahead.
ACV rating: ***** (five out of five)
Listing
Paddington The Musical, Savoy Theatre, Savoy Court, Strand, London WC2R0ET running until May 30 2027
Tickets: Here
