Menier Chocolate Factory facts for kids
Exterior of the theatre
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| Address | 53 Southwark Street London, SE1 England, United Kingdom |
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| Coordinates | 51°30′18″N 0°05′50″W / 51.5051°N 0.0972°W |
| Public transit |   London Bridge |
| Type | Fringe theatre |
| Capacity | 180 |
| Opened | 2004 |
The Menier Chocolate Factory is a cool theatre in London, England. It's not a huge theatre like those in the West End, but it's very popular! It has 180 seats, a bar, and offices.
You can find it in a building that used to be a chocolate factory back in the 1870s. This old factory belonged to the Menier Chocolate Company from France. The theatre is located on Southwark Street in central south London. At the Menier Chocolate Factory, you can watch plays, musicals, live music, and even stand-up comedy shows. Many people say it's one of the most exciting smaller theatres in London!
A Sweet History
The Menier Chocolate Company, a French business, built a large brick factory and warehouse in London between 1865 and 1874. This building is now considered a special historic place.
The Menier Chocolate Factory theatre opened in 2004. It was built inside the back part of the old factory building. David Babani is the artistic director, which means he's in charge of the shows they put on.
Award-Winning Shows
The theatre quickly became famous for its amazing shows. In 2005, it won an award for being a great new theatre. David Babani and Danielle Tarento, who helped start the theatre, also won an award for being outstanding newcomers.
In 2007, a musical called Sunday in the Park with George was a huge hit. It won five Laurence Olivier Awards, which are very important theatre awards in London! The main actors, Daniel Evans and Jenna Russell, won awards too. This show was so good that it even moved to Broadway in New York City, which is a very big deal for a theatre production!
More awards followed in 2009 when the musical La Cage aux Folles won Best Musical Revival. Douglas Hodge also won Best Actor in a Musical for his role in that show.
In 2010, two shows from the Chocolate Factory, A Little Night Music and La Cage aux Folles, opened on Broadway. They won several Tony Awards, which are like the Oscars for theatre in America! Catherine Zeta Jones won for A Little Night Music, and Douglas Hodge and Terry Johnson won for La Cage aux Folles. The theatre keeps putting on a mix of old favourite shows, new plays, and funny comedy acts.
Images for kids
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Audrey II from Little Shop of Horrors in 2006
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Forbidden Broadway in 2009
