Ralf Little’s British intelligence officer Alec Leamas in The Spy Who Came In From The Cold. Picture: Johan Persson
FOR the first time, a novel by John le Carré, master of the modern spy genre, is being brought to life on stage in a thrilling adaptation of The Spy Who Came In From The Cold.
Ralf Little, best known for playing Detective Inspector Neville Parker in Death In Paradise, Antony Royle in The Royle Family and Jonny Keogh in Two Pints Of Lager And A Packet Of Crisps, will lead the cast as Alec Leamas in Second Half Productions and The Ink Factory’s tour of the Chichester Festival Theatre production.
“It is a huge privilege to be stepping into the shoes of one of John le Carré’s great literary creations, Alec Leamas, as we bring the murky world of his Cold War masterpiece to life on stage,” says Oldham-born actor, writer, presenter, narrator and former semi-professional footballer Little, 46. “I first read The Spy Who Came In From the Cold when I was 16 and it has stayed with me ever since.
Ralf Little: Touring 21 venues in the role of Alec Leamas in The Spy Who Came In From The Cold. Picture: Michael Wharley
“Reading David Eldridge’s brilliant script, I once again found myself drawn into the story’s unexpected twists and turns, its high-stakes game of cat-and-mouse between East and West, which David has captured so thrillingly in the play. Despite being written in the Sixties, it feels startlingly relevant to the times we are living in now. I can’t wait to share this story with audiences old and new as we take it to cities right across the UK.”
Named in TIME Magazine’s All-Time Greatest 100 Novels and still a best seller after more than six decades, The Spy Who Came In From The Cold takes a journey through the fog-shrouded terrain of Cold War espionage, deception and moral compromise, adapted by Eldridge (Beginning; Middle; End, all National Theatre) from the work of Le Carré, creator of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy and The Night Manager.
Disillusioned, weary and hardened, British intelligence officer Alec Leamas is ready to come in from the cold, until veteran agent George Smiley persuades him to take one final mission —dangerous, deceptive and deeply personal — against the East German Secret Service. Despatched into enemy territory, deep undercover, he finds his convictions tested and his defences breached by Liz Gold, a quietly defiant librarian, whose compassion threatens to thaw his frostbitten heart.
Ralf Little’s Alec Leamas, left, in a scene from The Spy Who came In From The Cold. Picture: Johan Persson
After a sold-out run at Chichester Festival Theatre and a West End premiere at @sohoplace in a14-week run from November 2025 to February 2026, the play is on a 21-venue tour from March 21 to August 22, under the direction of Jeremy Herrin (Grace Pervades; A Mirror; People, Places & Things; Long Day’s Journey Into Night).
Little’s Alec Leamas is joined by Grainne Dromgoole as Liz Gold, Tony Turner as George Smiley, Nicholas Murchie as Control and Peter Losasso as Hans-Dieter Mundt. Completing the cast are Eddie Toll as Fielder, Melody Chikakane Brown as Miss Crail/President of the Tribunal, Jeff D’Sangalang as Ashe, Jonny Burman as Riemeck/Kiever and Jo Servi as Pitt/Ford, with Clara Wessely and James Burman in the ensemble.
The creative team includes designer Max Jones, lighting designer Azusa Ono, sound designer Elizabeth Purnell, composer Paul Englishby, movement director Lucy Cullingford and tour director Joe Lichtenstein.
Second Half Productions and The Ink Factory presents Chichester Festival Theatre in John le Carré’s The Spy Who Comes in From The Cold, Grand Opera House, York, June 9 to 13, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday matinees. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
The poster for Ralf Little’s appearance in John le Carré’s The Spy Who Came In From The Cold