John Doyle to Direct a London Revival of ‘The Color Purple’

Sara Krulwich/The New York Times John Doyle

John Doyle, who received a Tony Award for best direction in the 2005 Broadway production of “Sweeney Todd,” will bring his talents to London for his next project, a revival of the musical version of “The Color Purple.” The Menier Chocolate Factory, a 150-seat performance space in a former factory, will host the engagement from July 5 to Sept. 14.

In a telephone conversation on Sunday Mr. Doyle, who will also oversee stage design, said this new production would be quite different from the previous version, which opened on Broadway in 2005.

“I’m basically going to do it on the platform with chairs and a back wall,” h said. “There is no backstage. You really have to engage the audience’s imagination in how you take the story from place to place.”

Mr. Doyle explained that the idea of doing a sparse revival of “The Color Purple” â€" with a book by Marsha Norman and music and lyrics by Brenda Russell, Allee Willis and Stephen Bray â€" in a smaller space had been planted in his mind by the Menier Chocolate Factory during its run of his production of Stephen Sondheim’s “Road Show” in 2011.

“I very much enjoy working in that space,” he said. “It seemed to be a good fit.”