Cast & creatives announced to join Maureen Lipman in world premiere of ALLEGRA
Thomas Hopkins Productions and SAMS Entertainment are today thrilled to announce the complete cast joining national treasure Dame Maureen Lipman DBE in the world premiere of Allegra, a new comedy by Tony Award and two time Olivier Award® nominated playwright Peter Quilter.
Opening at Theatre Royal Brighton in the week Dame Maureen celebrates her 80th birthday, the cast features John Middleton (Emmerdale), Elizabeth Bower (Trollied) and Bailey Patrick (London Kills).
The production reunites Maureen with Director/Choreographer Stephen Mear 28 years after they worked together on the National Theatre’s acclaimed production of Oklahoma! when Stephen assisted Choreographer Susan Stroman.
Following her acclaimed performance in Rose in the West End in 2023, Dame Maureen now leads this joyful heart-warming comedy on her first major UK theatre tour in 20 years.
Allegra is a moving comedy with spectacular song and dance sequences, but is also a touching and emotional examination of how, sometimes, the most beautiful of minds can start to disappear.
Allegra (Maureen Lipman) is full of joy. So much of it that she cannot stop herself from bursting into song. At home, in the street, even in shops and restaurants. Sometimes the music is only a fantasy in her head. But at other times, it results in a loud and disruptive performance that causes chaos in the village where she lives. Allegra’s brother, Ronen, and her carer, Anna, must somehow control her eccentricities and avoid angry visits by the local policeman. But is this possible without destroying the great happiness that fills Allegra’s heart?
At the start of a long and distinguished theatre career in theatre, Dame Maureen Lipman DBE spent three years with the National Theatre Company at The Old Vic led by Sir Laurence Olivier. Her acclaimed one-woman tribute to Joyce Grenfell, Re: Joyce, ran several times over five years in the West End. Other self-written one-woman shows include Live and Kidding (Duchess Theatre) and Up For It
(Edinburgh Fringe and Purcell Room). Other theatre credits include: See How They Run (Shaftesbury Theatre): As You Like It (RSC); Outside Edge and Martin Sherman’s Messiah (Hampstead); Aunt Eller in the National Theatre’s Oklahoma!; Lost in Yonkers (Strand Theatre); Daytona (Park Theatre & Theatre Royal Haymarket); Harvey (Birmingham Rep & Theatre Royal Haymarket) and The Best Man (Playhouse Theatre). She has been nominated for seven Olivier Awards across categories commending acting in plays, musicals and comedy, winning in 1984 for See How They Run. Her film credits include: Oklahoma!, the Oscar-winning The Pianist and Educating Rita. Her extensive TV credits include playing agony aunt Jane Lucas in the ground-breaking series Agony (1979 - 81); playing Evelyn Plummer in Coronation Street since 1981 (winning seven TV awards including Best Soap Actress in the TV Choice Awards, and Celebrity Gogglebox alongside Gyles Brandreth. She was married for thirty-three years to the late writer Jack Rosenthal, appearing in three of his TV plays including the Emmy-winning The Evacuees. She was awarded a Damehood in 2021.
John Middleton (Ronen) is best known for playing Rev Ashley Thomas in ITV’s Emmerdale from 1996 to 2017. When John was given the story that Ashley would be diagnosed with Vascular Dementia, which played out over the subsequent two and a half years leading to the death of his character, Emmerdale won the Broadcast, Royal Television Society, National Television Award, BAFTA and British Soap Award for Best Soap, his story won Best Story and Best Episode and he won Best Male Dramatic Performance and Best Actor. At the Yorkshire Royal Television Society Awards, he won Best Actor and a Special Achievement award. After this he starred in a highly successful theatre tour of Strangers on a Train where he appeared as the American detective Arthur Gerard. In 2021, John played Frank in the one-man show Hull & High Water for Hull Truck Theatre. Throughout 2022 and 2023, he played Colonel Pickering in the UK Tour of My Fair Lady, directed by Bartlett Sher and he can currently be seen as resident baddie Fraser “Froggy” Black Sr. in Hollyoaks.
Elizabeth Bower (Anna) is best known for playing Anna in the TV supermarket comedy series Trollied. Her other TV appearances include Mammoth, The Secret Life of Boys, The Trouble With Maggie Cole and Miss Scarlett and the Duke. She was a series regular on Doctors and Princess Mirror-Belle.
Bailey Patrick (PC) is best known on TV as Detective Rob Brady in all four seasons of London Kills. He was also in Bridgerton and Good Omens and played Amari in Andor. He played Vinnie alongside Danny Dyer in the recent film Marching Powder. In the West End he played Trevor in Mischief’s Theatre’s Peter Pan Goes Wrong. Other stage roles include Hickey in The Country Girls (Chichester Festival Theatre).
Dame Maureen said: “‘To find a comedy which can turn our current face of gloom into an upturned grin of happiness, is rare. Allegra is about a woman who is relentlessly upbeat - in more ways than one. Ibsen it isn’t’’
Peter Quilter said: “Maureen is one of the great theatrical treasures of this country, and to have her bring Allegra to life is a joy and an honour.”
Producer Thomas Hopkins said: “Working again with Maureen after the remarkable West End success of Rose is an absolute privilege. Allegra is sure to be one of UK theatre’s highlights of 2026.”
Playwright Peter Quilter will have the rare distinction of three plays running across the UK in 2026: Allegra; the 20th anniversary tour of Glorious! starring Wendi Peters and Matthew James Morrison; and Jinkx Monsoon will star as Judy Garland in a revival of End of the Rainbow at Soho Theatre in Walthamstow.
For more information, click here