The design of Paddington Bear for the new West End musical has been revealed for the first time. Directed by Luke Sheppard, the production features a bear that is 1.2 metres tall, with shaggy caramel fur, a white snout, a brown nose, and wearing his iconic blue duffel coat and red hat. A label around his neck reads, “Please look after this bear.”
The musical, based on Michael Bond’s beloved character, is written by Jessica Swale with music by Tom Fletcher. Producers Sonia Friedman and Eliza Lumley said they wanted to see if it was possible to have Paddington alone on stage, and explored various approaches before commissioning creature effects artist Tahra Zafar to design the bear. Zafar, whose credits include Star Wars and the PG Tips monkey, drew inspiration from Peggy Fortnum’s original illustrations.
The bear is brought to life by two performers: Arti Shah, who physically plays the bear, and James Hameed, who provides the voice and remotely puppeteers facial expressions, including Paddington’s famous hard stare. The pair developed a unique synchrony through workshops, with one child describing Hameed as “Paddington’s soul”.
Performing inside the heavy padded suit requires considerable stamina. Shah trained by sitting in a sauna daily for a week before rehearsals, saying the bear is “not as hot as the sauna”. Alternates Abbie Purvis and Ali Sarebani will also play the bear across eight performances a week. The production marks Shah’s first experience of taking a bow.
