**Marmalade Rules! — A Delightful Look at *Paddington* on the West End**
Director Luke Sheppard and his creative team face the challenge of molding *Paddington* into shape by the end of the month. It’s doable—if Sheppard can be ruthless in trimming a first act that currently feels overstuffed with exposition and songs that you can’t quite hum along to. Yet, you can almost forgive all of that because, as soppy as it sounds, this bear is absolutely adorable.
I’m reminded of director Trevor Nunn’s maxim: “That’s what previews are for—to get it right.” But doing this under pressure in the heart of the West End—and not in some remote out-of-town spot—won’t be easy.
Based on Michael Bond’s *A Bear Called Paddington* and StudioCanal’s 2014 movie, the show features music and lyrics by Tom Fletcher, founding member of pop band McFly, and a book by filmmaker and screenwriter Jessica Swale (*Summerland*). The cute cub arrives all alone at London’s Paddington railway station. The Brown family discovers him and takes him home.
Cue the audience’s collective swoon every time Paddington thinks of home and his Aunt Lucy back in Peru. That sense of home is a powerful force throughout the show.
The symbolism is equally powerful: a Caucasian family welcoming a stranger—an immigrant who doesn’t look like them—into their abode. It forcefully counters how immigrants to our shores often are othered and ostracized. It’s a conversation that’s very much in the headlines every second, minute, and hour of every day. No need for me to spell it out.
The secret’s already out about how they get the bear to work on stage, so this isn’t a spoiler. During the preview, a kid behind me squeaked to his father, “Daddy, there’s someone inside the bear!” Give that boy a tub of marmalade popcorn.
On Tuesday night, the onstage performer inhabiting the creature created by Tahra Zafar was Arti Shah, with the voice of Paddington provided by James Hameed. There are other magical bear touches that I won’t reveal here.
Fab sets by Tom Pye add to the magic. We’ve witnessed crashing chandeliers in *The Phantom of the Opera* and a helicopter landing in *Miss Saigon*, but Pye brings us stagecraft with a wink and a smile in *Paddington*. There’s a London taxi! Giraffes! And even a bathtub gets its moment to shine.
Before the show began, we were encouraged to say a hearty “Hello” to the person next to us. The lady on my right was very audible with her “oohs” and “aahs” whenever Paddington took center stage. I saved my own reactions for after the interval—when the show truly comes alive with a number called “Marmalade.”
You know, that’s the preserve made with oranges that Paddington enjoys slathered over slices of bread. Remember, he shared a marmalade sandwich with Queen Elizabeth II when they had tea at Buckingham Palace during the Platinum Jubilee celebrations in 2022.
For me, bliss is toasted sourdough spread with marmalade made from three citrus fruits—oranges, lemons, and grapefruit—by a very nice lady called Karly in Ramsgate, Kent. I go through a jar a week. It has magical properties.
So, when Paddington and a taxi driver (with the night’s best line: “I’m a taxi-driver, not a taxidermist!”) played by musical comedy genius Tom Edden (*One Man Two Guvnors*, *Crazy for You*), burst into the number “Marmalade,” I was in heaven. Along with audience members invited to sing along with the chorus, “Mar-ma-lade, mar-ma-lade, marvelous in every way!”
Even the corny lyric, “It’s great to share, if you can bear it!,” had us in raptures. It’s one of the best—and daftest—original songs to come along in a new musical in ages.
Is one number enough to make *Paddington* soar? Well, there are other songs, but only “Marmalade” truly transports us. There’s “The Rhythm of London” in the first act which could take off, but Sheppard and choreographer Ellen Kane will need to finesse all the busy business around it to make us snap our fingers.
The ensemble cast includes the aforementioned Tom Edden, alongside theater standouts including Bonnie Langford, Victoria Hamilton-Barrett, Teddy Kempner, Brenda Edwards, Tarrin Callender, Adrian Der Gregorian, Amy Ellen Richardson, and many others. They’re all solid. The difficulty is that everyone is given a chance to shine, which can sometimes feel crowded. Again, Sheppard, Kane, and their teams will work to fix that by November 30.
Key producer Sonia Friedman, working with StudioCanal and Eliza Lumley Productions on behalf of Universal Music UK, has assembled an award-winning team to collaborate with Sheppard, Kane, and Pye. This includes costume designer Gabriella Slade, lighting designer Neil Austin, sound designer Gareth Owen, and video design & animation by Ash J Woodward.
Before leaving the theater, I noticed a stall selling merchandise—lovingly dubbed “souvenirs”—that you practically trip over as you exit. If that’s busy, the marketing team has helpfully opened a store that’s impossible to miss as you leave Savoy Court.
Though I wasn’t tempted by the hoodies and other branded items, I did treat myself to a mug. Was I a mug for shelling out £16.99 ($22.35) for it? A charming “thug” bumped into me as I left the shop, and the mug shattered when it hit the pavement. I laughed, hummed “Mar-ma-lade,” and all was well.
That was a whole lot better than how I felt after enduring a recent preview of *The Hunger Games On Stage* at the soulless, purpose-built Canary Wharf Theatre. Adapted by Conor McPherson from Suzanne Collins’s *The Hunger Games* books and the film starring Jennifer Lawrence, there’s truly nothing more to say about it.
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*Paddington* continues its previews in the West End, showing promise with its adorable lead and magical moments. With some tightening and polish, this bear-themed musical just might become a must-see family favorite.
https://deadline.com/2025/11/paddington-the-musical-london-previews-1236608023/
