Allegra
Theatre Royal Brighton
Tue 12 May – Sat 16 May 2026
Presented by Thomas Hopkins, Same Entertainment, Melissa & Bradford Coolidge, Trunfio McGill
Written by Peter Quilter
Director & Choreographer: Stephen Mear
How wonderful that this production has come to our own Theatre Royal in Brighton, at the start of its world tour. With the eponymous part performed by one of our much cherished and favourite Dames, the love inside the theatre was almost palpable, before the play had even started.
Written by award winning and three times Tony nominated Peter Quilter, who gave us the true story of Florence Foster and the 2005 Judy Garland musical amongst dozens of other successes, currently has four plays running across the UK in 2026.
Maureen Lipman has been delighting audiences for over 55 years, her credits far too numerous to list here, and now in the very week she turns 80 – astonishing! – she continues to deliver stellar performances, her style and versatility flagging for not a second.
This play is unusual, its theme bittersweet, and although rife with poignancy, it is essentially a quirky comedy bursting with joy – as is Allegra herself. We open in Allegra’s kitchen, the set dressed immaculately (Justin Williams) and immediately feel the warmth emanating from the stage and seeping all round the theatre. That’s when we first hear ‘Allegra’ singing, something she simply can’t stop doing, both out loud and in her head, when her imaginary performance is brought to life on stage with Dame Maureen delivering banging numbers complete with dance, tap and lots of glitter.
Allegra herself is irrepressibly joyful, enduringly optimistic and well, happy. Why would anyone want to suppress this? However, in this world apparently we find this not only weird, but almost criminal. She bursts into song whenever and wherever she happens to be. And people complain. They eject her from shops, report her to the police and claim she is a public nuisance. Meanwhile her loving, well-meaning brother wants her to have a carer, take medication and well, just be ‘normal’.
Dame Maureen and John Middleton (as her brother Ronen) demonstrate impeccable comic timing, the perfect pairing. When Anna (Elizabeth Bower) arrives to start work as Allegra’s new carer, Allegra’s initial aversion to the idea of someone coming into her home (‘I LIKE living alone’) is soon supplanted by a gradual acceptance and even affection for her straight talking Czech companion, who, in turn, responds to Allegra with positivity and gentleness.
When the policeman knocks on the door to berate Allegra with complaints from a variety of residents in her village, I did rather think his character was a somewhat superfluous addition to the plot. However I was so wrong! Allegra’s uplifting eccentricity was complemented by the sheer zaniness of Bailey Patrick’s performance, which culminates in an absolutely hilarious sequence with all actors delivering a song and dance act which brought the house down.
‘Allegra’ is a moving, tender depiction of love, family and our reaction to other people’s differences. Allegra has a beautiful mind and who are we to try to suppress her joy even when it is clear that her unfailing happiness is as a result of it disappearing? A play which brims over with emotion at times, but a few moments later we are laughing hysterically at the the crazy comic scenes, and delicious one-liners.
This is a marvellous production. Would I have enjoyed this play quite so much if Maureen Lipman had not been playing the lead? Perhaps not. However, to have the privilege of witnessing her deliver fabulous vocals and some snappy dance routines, in a highly polished performance, confirms to us that there is nothing like a Dame.
Especially when that Dame is Maureen Lipman.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
2 hours 20 minutes including 20 minute interval
Theatre Royal Brighton Tues 12 – Sat 16 May
Reviewer: Gill Ranson
Photo: Marc Brenner
Touring Production:
Brighton – Theatre Royal – Tickets
Tuesday 12 – Saturday 16 May
High Wycombe – Wycombe Swan
Monday 18 – Saturday 23 May
Aberdeen – His Majesty’s Theatre
Tuesday 26 – Saturday 30 May
Malvern – Malvern Theatre
1 – 6 June
LONDON – Richmond Theatre – Tickets
Monday 8 – Saturday 13 June
Windsor – Theatre Royal
Monday 15 – Saturday 20 June
Glasgow – Theatre Royal – Tickets
Monday 22 – 27 June
Bath – Theatre Royal
Monday 29 June- Saturday 4 July