John Doyle to Helm Menier Chocolate Factory's THE COLOR PURPLE, Beginning 5 July

With a score of jazz, ragtime, gospel and blues, the European premiere of THE COLOR PURPLE will be directed by John Doyle (Road Show at the Menier Chocolate Factory), adapted for the stage by Pulitzer Prize and Tony award winner Marsha Norman, with music and lyrics by Grammy award winners Brenda Russell, Allee Willis and Stephen Bray.

Alice Walker is an internationally celebrated author, poet and activist whose books include seven novels, four collections of short stories, four children's books, and volumes of essays and poetry. With The Color Purple, Walker became the first African American woman to win the Pulitzer Prize in Fiction and the National Book Award.

Walker's work has been translated into more than two dozen languages, and her books have sold more than fifteen million copies. Walker's awards and fellowships include a Guggenheim Fellowship and an induction in the California Hall of Fame. In 2010 she presented the key note address at The 11th Annual Steve Biko Lecture at the University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa, and was awarded the Lennon/Ono Peace Grant in Reykjavik, Iceland. (Walker donated this latter award to an orphanage for the children of AIDS victims in East Africa.)

There will be a world exclusive premiere of 'Alice Walker: Beauty in Truth' a feature documentary film by Pratibha Parmar, about the life and art of Alice Walker on Sunday 10 March at 6.30pm as part of WOW- Women of the World Festival - at Southbank Centre.

The Color Purple is being produced by special arrangement with Scott Sanders and Roy Furman.

Tickets go on sale to Chocolate Factory priority bookers from midday on Monday 22 April, and to the general public at 9am on Wednesday 1 May.

Casting will be announced shortly.