Actress Sheridan Smith is to play Fanny Brice in a major new revival of Funny Girl.

The Broadway smash which propelled Barbra Streisand to stardom returns to the London stage for the first time since 1966, at the Menier Chocolate Factory.

Actress Sheridan Smith is to join the cast of Funny Girl in London
Sheridan Smith is to play the role which made Barbra Streisand famous (Joel Ryan/Invision/AP/PA)

The musical tells how Brice rises from the Lower East Side of New York to become a star under producer Florenz Ziegfeld. While she was cheered onstage as a great comedienne, offstage she faced a doomed relationship with the man she loved.

Actress Sheridan Smith is to join the cast of Funny Girl in London
The new version of the show will run at the Menier Chocolate Factory (Yui Mok/PA)

The multi award-winning Michael Mayer directs the production, which opens on December 2, with previews from November 20, and runs until March 5.