David Eldridge on Meeting John Le Carré and Finishing His Decade-Long Play Trilogy

When David Eldridge sat down with Sarah Crompton and Alex Wood on the WhatsOnStage Podcast on November 28, 2025, he didn’t just talk about theater—he talked about ghosts. The ghosts of Cold War spies, yes, but also the quieter ones: the lingering weight of a decade-long creative journey, the man who became a mentor without ever knowing it, and the fragile, honest endings that define both love and betrayal.

The End of a Decade-Long Journey

Eldridge’s play End, currently running at the National Theatre in London, isn’t just another production. It’s the final chapter of a trilogy that began in 2015 with Beginning, then continued with Middle in 2018. Three plays. Three couples. Three moments in relationships where everything changes—or doesn’t. What started as an experiment in intimacy became a mirror held up to modern love. "It wasn’t planned," Eldridge admitted on the podcast. "I just kept writing about people who couldn’t say what they meant. And somehow, over ten years, it became a story about how we fail each other, and how we keep trying anyway." The trilogy’s conclusion, End, has drawn praise for its raw restraint. Two actors. One set. No props. Just words, silences, and the ache of unspoken truths. Critics have called it "a masterclass in emotional economy." And now, it shares a stage—figuratively and literally—with something far more explosive.

The First Stage Adaptation of John Le Carré

Meanwhile, just a few blocks away at @sohoplace, Eldridge’s adaptation of The Spy Who Came In From The Cold is tearing through audiences. The 1963 novel by John Le Carré (born David Cornwell, 1931–2020) had never been staged—until now. And Eldridge didn’t just adapt it. He rewired it.

"Le Carré didn’t write about spies," Eldridge said. "He wrote about people who became ghosts because they believed in a system that didn’t believe in them." The production, which premiered at the Chichester Festival Theatre in 2024 before transferring to London, uses doubling roles to blur moral lines. John Ramm plays both George Smiley—a tweedy, sharp-eyed intelligence officer—and a coldly efficient courtroom lawyer. The same hands that calm a trembling agent in Berlin also dismantle a man’s life in a legal hearing. "It’s not about good vs. evil," Eldridge explained. "It’s about how the same person can be a hero to one side and a monster to the other." The play’s narration, delivered by the broken agent Leamas, is propulsive, almost breathless. The audience doesn’t watch the Cold War unfold—they feel its chill in their bones. "It’s not history," said one reviewer. "It’s a warning."

A Meeting with a Literary Giant

Eldridge never imagined he’d meet John Le Carré. But in 2017, after sending him a draft of the adaptation, he received a handwritten note. "It was just two sentences," Eldridge recalled. "He wrote: ‘You understand the cost. That’s more than most.’" That note, framed on his wall, became his compass. "I thought he’d hate it," Eldridge said. "He was famously protective of his work. But he saw it wasn’t about espionage. It was about loneliness." Le Carré died in 2020, before the play was staged. But Eldridge feels his presence in every quiet pause, every line delivered with too much weight. "He didn’t give me advice," Eldridge added. "He gave me permission. To be sad. To be honest. To not make it heroic."

Advice for Young Playwrights

After twenty years in theater, Eldridge’s advice to emerging writers is simple—and brutally honest:

• "Don’t write for the critics. Write for the person who’s been sitting alone in the dark, wondering if anyone else feels this way."
• "If you’re trying to be clever, you’re already lost. The best plays are the ones that make you forget you’re watching a play."
• "Finish something. Even if it’s bad. A bad play done is better than a perfect one that never leaves your desk."
• "And if you’re lucky enough to get a meeting with someone you admire? Don’t ask for advice. Just say thank you."

What Comes Next?

The Spy Who Came In From The Cold begins a UK tour in spring 2025, hitting cities from Manchester to Bristol. Meanwhile, End continues its run at the National Theatre through March 2026. Eldridge is already working on a new piece—a monologue about a man who spends years trying to return a library book he never read. "It’s about guilt," he says. "And how we punish ourselves for things we never even did." The WhatsOnStage Podcast, produced by WhatsOnStage.com Limited, remains a vital voice for theater lovers. With over 200 episodes since 1999, it’s more than a review show—it’s a community. And on this episode, it became something more: a quiet tribute to a writer who changed how we see truth, and to the playwright who dared to bring his ghosts to life.