Audiences now have longer to catch the acclaimed production of Candide at the Menier Chocolate Factory with the news it has added eight additional performances to its run due to popular demand.
Matthew White’s production, which attracted a stellar cast including Olivier Award winning performers James Dreyfus and David Thaxton, and West End regulars Scarlett Strallen, Cassidy Jansen and Fra Free to the intimate London Bridge venue, will now play at the hit producing theatre until 1 March.
Leonard Bernstein’s classic piece opened in December to an outpouring of critical plaudits. While the Sunday Times described it as “A thrillingly sophisticated show”, The Guardian’s chief critic Michael Billington labelled the leading cast as “outstanding”.
With a book by Hugh Wheeler, the comedy operetta retells Voltaire’s story of one man’s journey of discovery from Westphalia to the far reaches of the New World. As his tale of loss and love, happiness and anguish plays out, so does Bernstein’s score, which comprises songs including Make Our Garden Grow, Glitter And Be Gay and Oh, Happy We written by acclaimed lyricist Richard Wilbur, with a little help from fellow lyrical legends including Stephen Sondheim and Dorothy Parker.
The Menier Chocolate Factory, which last year saw its hugely successful five-star hit Merrily We Roll Along transfer into the West End, has as yet not announced what will follow Candide in its 2014 season.