About the Menier Chocolate Factory
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The building went up between 1865 and 1874 as a factory and warehouse for Menier, the French chocolate company, which is where the theatre's name comes from. It was turned into a theatre in 2004, and the bar still sells Menier chocolate.
Who runs the Menier Chocolate Factory?
It's an independent theatre, run by its Artistic Director, David Babani, and it produces its own shows. It gets no Arts Council funding.
Why is the Menier Chocolate Factory famous?
For musicals that started here and went on to win big awards elsewhere. Twenty of its productions have moved to the West End and six to Broadway. It's known in particular for Stephen Sondheim, with revivals of Sunday in the Park with George, A Little Night Music, Assassins and Pacific Overtures, and it gave Jason Robert Brown's The Last Five Years its UK premiere.
Notable past productions
- Merrily We Roll Along (2012), Olivier Award for Best Musical Revival in 2014. The production later went to Broadway and won the 2024 Tony for Best Revival of a Musical
- The Color Purple (2013), which went to Broadway and won the 2016 Tony for Best Musical Revival, with Cynthia Erivo winning Best Actress in a Musical
- Fiddler on the Roof (2018), Olivier Award for Best Musical Revival in 2020
- The Producers (2024), which moved to the Garrick Theatre in 2025
- Equus (2026), with Toby Stephens
Other theatres to know
- Bridge Theatre, by Tower Bridge, about 15 minutes' walk east along the river, a larger theatre that also changes its layout from show to show
- Young Vic, on The Cut near Waterloo, another small theatre that's rebuilt for every production
- Dorfman Theatre, the National Theatre's smallest, on the South Bank, which is laid out differently for each show too
About FAQs
Is the Menier Chocolate Factory still a chocolate factory?
No. It's been a theatre since 2004, but it was built as a factory for the Menier chocolate company, and you can still buy Menier chocolate at the bar.