I had seen Candide twice before, at the National Theatre and ENO, so jumped at the chance of seeing this new production in Birmingham. Now the almost mandatory gender swapping was enacted and Gillian Bevan gave us an hilarious characterisation of Candide's tutor, Pangloss. All the cast were superb, Ed Lyon's diction and beautiful phrasing was never lost in the high energy mayhem that engulfs his Candide. His love interest, Cunegonde was brilliantly sung and acted by Claudia Boyle as she went from being an innocent young thing to a woman very much of the world. Her rendition of "Glitter to be Gay" brought the house down as she sung on the steps of a Parisian brothel as bin men raided their wheelies for trinkets for her. The WNO's masterstroke was the projections, from brothels to volcanoes, versatile, pleasing on the eye and witty were the obvious solution for a touring show and worked to great effect. The excellent orchestra under Karen Kamensek were on stage throughout. A must see!

I loved every moment, the stage production was very clever and it was so much fun spotting all the details in the projection of images. I was blown away by the musicality and JOY that clearly came through every performer. I don't go to enough theatre but this has inspired me , thankyou so much !