On Saturday 6th December, George Blagden will start his run in A Ghost in Your Ear at Hampstead Theatre, where he stars as George alongside Jonathan Livingstone as Sid, and the show (which is described as an immersive horror experience) is written and directed by Jamie Armitage in collaboration with Ben and Max Ringham, and runs until Saturday 24th January. It has been announced that George will play Valentin in Kiss of the Spider Woman at Leicester Curve’s Studio Theatre, Bristol Old Vic and Southampton Mayflower Studios opposite Anna-Jane Casey as Aurora and Layton Williams as Molina, and this will be the first major UK revival of the show in over 30 years and will begin in April 2026. In Nancy Carroll’s new adaptation of The Cabinet Minister, George played Valentine White when the show opened at the Menier Chocolate Factory in 2024 (with Nancy playing Lady Catherine Twombley), and his previous stage projects include playing Bob in White Christmas at Sheffield Crucible for the 2023 festive season, and he performed in his first professional musical playing PJ in Company at the West End’s Gielgud Theatre. On screen, George played Matteo in The Run and Dorian in The Gallery, with both being interactive feature films directed by Paul Raschid, and he filmed an episode of Black Mirror playing Lenny in the Hang the DJ episode in Series 4. George is probably best-known on screen for his starring role of Louis XIV across all three series of Versailles, which is a historical drama set during the construction of the Palace of Versailles during the reign of Louis XIV (which released on BBC Two in the UK), and Athelstan in Vikings – another historical drama, which originally premiered on the History Channel, and saw a spin-off called Vikings: Athelstan’s Journal. Chatting with us, George spoke about his upcoming role of George in A Ghost in Your Ear at Hampstead Theatre, being announced to play Valentin in Kiss of the Spider Woman next year and his screen work including Versailles and Vikings.

From Saturday 6th December to Saturday 24th January 2026, you are co-starring as George in the world premiere of A Ghost in Your Ear at Hampstead Theatre, what can you tell us about the show?

A Ghost in Your Ear is an amazing new piece from Jamie Armitage. The audience will watch an audiobook narrator called George record a ghost story in a recording studio with the help of his engineer, Sid.

With the production promoted as an immersive horror experience, what are you looking forward to for performing in an immersive horror play and how different do you think it will be to your previous projects?

It will hopefully be something that hasn’t been seen before – the audience will be immersed in the story by wearing headphones throughout the show, to be able to hear the story, and what is going on inside the studio in front of them. I can’t wait to help draw the audience into this immersive experience, which will hopefully stay with them long after the show is finished.

Was there anything that drew you to A Ghost in Your Ear and how was it reading the script written by Jamie Armitage (who is also directing)?

Having worked with Jamie and Ben and Max Ringham before separately, I knew that they were all going to be creating something really exciting, something that I knew I would be desperate to go and watch, regardless of whether I could be part of it or not. In 2016, I worked on The Pitchfork Disney with Jamie Lloyd and the Ringhams, and they created something really immersive and very special in the basement of Shoreditch Town Hall. So when I found out the Ringhams were doing this with Jamie Armitage at the Hampstead Theatre, I knew I really wanted to be part of it. When Jamie and I talked about working on it together, it became clear to both of us that this would be a really exciting collaboration. What he has created is truly amazing, having not only written the play, but the story within the play itself.

What is George like to play and how are you preparing for taking on the role?

The aim with the show is to try to blur the lines wherever we can between what’s real and what’s not……and trying to create a character as close to the actor who plays the audiobook narrator is one of the things which helps this! So, the main thing I’m really focusing on is discovering the most effective ways to help the audience immerse themselves in the story. That, and a LOT of line-learning…..!

Why would you recommend booking tickets to see A Ghost in Your Ear at Hampstead Theatre, and who do you think it will appeal to?

If you have any interest in horror or thriller pieces at all, this show will not disappoint you! You HAVE to come along. It’s designed to be unsettling, but as someone who isn’t very good at all with horror myself(!), I think I would absolutely love the experience because of the immersive experience with the headphones providing binaural sound…..this is something that I haven’t experienced in a theatrical context before, and I’m really gutted that I won’t get to experience this myself because I’m in it!

It has been announced that you will be playing Valentin in Kiss of the Spider Woman at Leicester Curve’s Studio Theatre, Bristol Old Vic and Southampton Mayflower Studios next year opposite Anna-Jane Casey as Aurora and Layton Williams as Molina; how does it feel to be part of the first major UK revival in over 30 years?

I’m so excited about it! I didn’t know the musical at all when auditioning for it, but became fascinated by it, and the history behind the book and Argentina at that time. And beyond it being a spectacle, I think it has a really powerful message that we could all relate to in 2026… I can’t wait to work with Anna-Jane Casey and Layton Williams as well, and I have always loved working with director Paul Foster on projects together.

Can you tell us about your time playing Valentine White in Nancy Carroll’s new adaptation of The Cabinet Minister at the Menier Chocolate Factory in 2024?

It was incredible to be part of something that Nancy had created for an audience to come and properly enjoy themselves. It was so lovely to hear audiences enjoying themselves every night – doing a comedy in an intimate space like the Menier Chocolate Factory is so rewarding as a performer! And it was great to be able to play guitar again and be part of the most insanely talented actor-musician ensemble – the cast were incredible.

What did you enjoy most about playing Bob in White Christmas at Sheffield Crucible over the 2023 festive season?

Everything! I have always wanted to do a show like that – a proper old-school musical with some of the most gorgeous music that we all know and love, and choreography by Alistair David that was so stunning that it brought tears to our eyes in the rehearsal room. It was so moving to be a part of a show like that, being part of an incredible team on stage, all working together to make the most beautiful set pieces and dances… I am desperate to do something like it again.

What are some of your favourite memories from performing in the West End cast of Company as PJ at the Gielgud Theatre?

It was my first professional musical, and I felt like a drama school student again, learning everything I could from some of the best performers we have in the West End. It was like a masterclass watching the team put the show together, and I was so happy to be a part of it.

As a screen actor, you play Matteo in The Run and Dorian in The Gallery – both interactive feature films directed by Paul Raschid, what were they like to work on?

Amazing! I love being part of projects that challenge me, and Paul has always made sure to push the genre as far as he can. His scripts are always thousands of pages, covering hundreds of variations of how the story unfolds, and as an actor, trying to tell multiple different stories within the same story is an amazing technical challenge. I love watching audiences in cinemas enjoy the interactive experience as well – a ‘choose your own adventure’ experience, but in a communal setting.

How was it developing the role of Louis XIV across all three series of Versailles and do you have any stand-out highlights from starring in the series that you can share?

It was the role of a lifetime, and I was honestly so proud of what we achieved with it. I love long-form television series, because as an actor, you can take a character on a journey over 30 hours of storytelling, and build and develop that character with an audience in real time. It’s an amazing way of constantly evolving your work, rather than trying to create a finished performance that is consumed within a couple of hours in a play or in a film. The way you can grow characters in that context is so exciting.

What was it like filming for the Hang the DJ episode of Black Mirror as Lenny in Series 4?

So much fun! I LOVE Black Mirror, so getting to be part of it, especially part of that episode, was a dream come true. And getting to see how they put a show like that together was really exciting.

How did you find the experience playing Athelstan throughout the first four series of Vikings?

Again, I was so lucky to get to play a character like Athelstan over several seasons. Vikings was my first big television job, and it really formed a lot of my ideas about how to tell stories on camera. I also discovered my obsession for wanting to work on characters who are complex, who have some kind of internal struggle that you as an actor have a responsibility to share in the best way possible. I’m always looking for ways I can do my job that allows me to do this.

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