Funny Girl with Sheridan Smith breaks Menier box office record

The Menier Chocolate Factory revival of Funny Girl starring Sheridan Smith has become the theatre's fastest-selling show.

The production went on public sale at midnight and was sold out by 10:30am.

Directed by Michael Mayer, Funny Girl opens on 2 December 2015 (previews from 20 November), and runs until 5 March 2016.

Presented in association with Sonia Friedman Productions and Scott Landis, it is being hotly tipped for a West End transfer following its run at the Chocolate Factory.

The production sees Funny Girl return to the London stage for the first time since its 1966 UK premiere. With music by Jule Styne, lyrics by Bob Merrill and book by Isobel Lennart, the show originally starred Barbra Streisand.

It centres on Fanny Brice, who rose from the Lower East Side of New York to become one of Broadway's biggest stars under producer Florenz Ziegfield. While she was cheered onstage as a great comedienne, offstage she faced a doomed relationship with the man she loved.

The score features classics such as "People", "You Are Woman, I Am Man" and "Don't Rain on My Parade".