Interview: 'Kindness Really Can Change People': Writer Jessica Swale on Collaboration and Respect in Adapting PADDINGTON THE MUSICAL For The Stage

Paddington the Musical is now in previews at the Savoy Theatre, marking a new chapter in the remarkable career of the exceptional Jessica Swale. An Olivier Award-winning playwright, screenwriter, and director, Swale is best known for her witty and historically resonant stage works such as Nell Gwynn and Blue Stockings, as well as her feature film debut Summerland.

Having trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama and Exeter University, she has directed major productions at Shakespeare’s Globe, adapted classics including The Jungle Book and The Secret Garden, and written screenplays for both independent and studio films. Her work is often characterised by optimism, humour, and the championing of underdogs, qualities that make her an ideal custodian for Michael Bond’s most famous creation.

She now has the credit of writing the book for the autumn's most-anticipated theatrical production; Paddington the Musical. Swale is heartwarmingly warm, vibrant and enthusiastic, a powerhouse triple threat of creative talent, and genuinely nice. Supported by a creative team committed to both honouring tradition and speaking to the present, Jessica Swale’s words, Tom Fletcher’s music and Luke Sheppard’s vision, this iconic bear is set to find a dynamic, but welcoming new home on the London stage.

As she prepares for official opening, Swale spoke to BroadwayWorld about sandwiches, collaboration and the joys and challenges of adapting such an iconic bear for the stage.

On Writing Paddington for the Stage

“It’s a huge privilege to take on the story because he is so beloved and not just as a character, but as an icon and also a symbol. I think he’s become in the last few years a symbol of kindness, a symbol of what Britishness can mean when it’s done right and what London can be, when it’s at its most welcoming and how great a community can be when everybody listens to each other and has kindness in their spirits.”

She explains the process of balancing respect for Michael Bond’s work with the need to create something theatrical:

“Whilst the inspiration was absolutely the first series of books and the first of the movies, in order to make it live and breathe as a piece of theatre, we really wanted to make it our own. And as a writer, it’s just not very interesting to cut and paste other people’s work into your script. So I wanted to really make sure that this was a new piece (of writing) and it has the spirit very much of where we are and how we feel in 2025 and what it means to be a person in our community today, as well as honouring the brilliant history of Paddington and the fact that he is timeless.”

The Joy of Collaboration

Swale describs her first experience of writing for a musical as both daunting and exhilarating:

“I’ve never had a musical before and I love to take on challenges that allow me to feel my edges. It’s been so fun working with Tom [Fletcher-music & lyrics] and Luke [Sheppard-director]. Luke, who’s an extremely experienced musical theatre director. And Tom, who’s obviously a genius musician. But the two of us are new to doing a musical like this on this scale. So we’ve learned together and I think it’s very important that the composer and the writer have a really close working relationship because you’re sharing the story between you.”

The collaboration with composer Fletcher has been especially close:

“Quite often I think one of the things that makes us a good team, I hope, is that the show is king, not any of us. So I’ve lost scenes and you know, passages which I thought have had some of my best jokes in, but because actually it’s not what the show needs… both Tom and I have had to kill quite a lot of darlings, so to speak. And Luke has been such a kind of guiding light in that, because he’s so experienced with putting together a musical and it’s very much been a three-way conversation the whole time.”

Or, as Swale puts it more playfully: “Me and Tom are the bread and then Luke is the fantastic marmalade that makes the sandwich tasty.”

Finding the Heart of the Story

For Swale, the challenge was not just comedic chaos, but also dramatic weight:

“There’s so much brightness and comedy in the nature of the storytelling because Paddington is an agent of chaos and the delightful thing is that he always means well. He’s never purposely destructive. It’s always because he’s trying to help somebody. And actually working with people like Karen Jankel, who is Michael Bond’s daughter, she helped us by watching the various workshops and reminding us of those elements. So she would say Paddington can’t create a disaster because he’s clumsy. It has to be because he was trying to do something good.”

She added: “In order to really care about the characters and for it to really matter the stakes have to be high… it’s through the arrival and interaction with Paddington that they learn what their flaws are and how to combat them in order to stay together as a family and be the best for each other that they can be.”

Paddington’s Message for Today

Asked what she hopes audiences would take away, Swale was clear:

“I also hope that it gives people a sense of optimism because Paddington reminds us fundamentally that kindness really can change people. And in the changing attitudes… we could, you know, look towards a better version of ourselves and of society. That probably sounds very grand, but actually there’s plenty of examples in history of leaders who surprisingly showed kindness as one of their key character traits and have changed the population and the politics and the nuances of the way society runs as a result. And that’s something that I certainly feel is something that we could all do with at the moment.”

She laughs at the previous secrecy surrounding how Paddington himself will appear on stage but promised: “It knocks my socks off every single time I’m in the room with Paddington, he is a marvel and I think people are going to be really moved when they see him.”

Quick Fire Questions

• Favourite Paddington story? “I love Paddington Goes to the Theatre, because that is super inspiring.”
• Marmalade or jam? “I shouldn’t say this. Do you know, lemon curd!”
• One word to describe Paddington? “Kind.”
• Most fun scene to write? “Without giving too much away, Geographers' Guild.”
• Best advice as a writer? “Writing is rewriting. I reckon I’m probably 300 drafts into this script and that is appropriate.”
• What do you hope audiences feel leaving the Savoy? “Elated.” 

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