In the intimate space of the White Bear Theatre, Candy delivers a raw, powerful portrayal of love and addiction. Freya James plays the young and beautiful Candy, opposite the equally beautiful Ed McVey, best known for portraying Prince William in Netflix’s The Crown, as Dan. When the two characters meet, they fall into an intoxicating, all-consuming love. The small venue magnifies this intensity, making the audience feel almost like voyeurs, privy to the couple’s most private and vulnerable moments.
Their love seems full of promise, but it quickly becomes clear that Dan is already addicted to heroin. Candy, captivated by him, is drawn into his world and soon tries it herself. Though Dan later claims he never intended to get her hooked, he admits that seeing her use made his own life feel more bearable. Heroin becomes everything to them; they cannot live with it, nor can they live without it.
Based on Candy: A Novel of Love and Addiction by Luke Davies, this stage adaptation captures the emotional and psychological toll of substance abuse with searing honesty. While Davies’ novel is a fictionalised account rather than a strict memoir, the authenticity of the stage performance makes it deeply believable and affecting.
Both James and McVey deliver compelling, sympathetic portrayals. Their use of mime is vivid and evocative, enabling the audience to viscerally feel the euphoric highs and excruciating lows of their characters’ experiences. Even their agonising attempts at withdrawal are rendered with raw physicality and emotional depth. Their movement on stage, sometimes graceful, sometimes frantic, feels almost choreographed, a testament to the work of co-movement directors Laure Bachelot and Alexandria McCauley.
The set is sparse, just a couple of crates, but used so imaginatively that they become every possible household item. Lighting and sound are used sparingly but to great effect, heightening the emotional stakes and creating moments of intense pressure.
This stage adaptation captures the emotional and psychological toll of substance abuse with searing honesty. and what could have been a grim descent into 75 minutes of despair is instead a gripping, nuanced, and deeply human story of love, dependency, and loss.
In addition to its run at the White Bear Theatre, you can catch Candy this August at the Edinburgh Fringe – an ideal platform for a play this bold, intimate, and emotionally resonant.
Review by Bernadette Lintunen
Set in 1980s Australia, Candy meets Dan and their love blossoms quickly in their desire to share everything, Candy tries heroin – an act that marks the beginning of their descent as heroin becomes a constant and demanding presence in their relationship.
Candy is the stage adaptation of Luke Davies’ novel Candy: A Novel of Love and Addiction, which was first adapted for the screen in 2006, starring Heath Ledger and Abbie Cornish. This production marks the second run of the stage adaptation after a sold-out run at the Old Red Lion in August 2024.
CAST
Freya James as Candy
Ed McVey as Dan
The role of Dan will be played by Levi Kenway at certain performances
CREATIVE TEAM
Written by Luke Davies
Adapted by Kate Elliott and Freya James
Kate Elliott – Director and Set Designer
Laure Bachelot and Alexandria McCauley – Movement Directors
Georgina Makhubele – Intimacy Coordinator
Sound and Lighting Technician – Cameron Pike
Marketing and PR Manager – Erin Guan
CANDY
White Bear Theatre
3 to 14 June 2025
