Synopsis
Candide
Published by Methuen
Large Mixed Cast
Candide is an optimist, a dreamer
He believes that everything is for the best in the best of all possible worlds
But that belief is about to be tested as Candide's comfortable life is overtaken by an endless barrage of misfortune
Voltaire's novel was published in 1759, famously tracing the journey of a young man who leads a sheltered life, believing that mankind lives in the best of all possible worlds and that everything happens for the best
But Candide's happiness comes to a sharp end when he is unfairly evicted from his uncle's castle for kissing his cousin and true love, Lady Cunégonde
Cast out into the big wide world, Candide is forced to confront reality
As his world collapses around him, we are transported across the centuries to new locations and parallel universes ...
How will Candide's optimism fare when it collides with life in the twenty-first century?
M9,F7
Reviews
"There are few stage authors writing more interestingly than Mark Ravenhill ... a searing, intelligent, disturbing sociologist with a talent for satirical dialogue and a flair for sexual sensationalism" ~ Financial Times
"Ravenhill has more to say, and says it more refreshingly and wittily, than any other playwright of his generation" ~ Time Out