ALLEGRA at Richmond Theatre

There’s an exasperation in Ronen (John Middleton) that was quite palpable as Officer Rogers (Bailey Patrick) paying his sister Allegra (Dame Maureen Lipman) a visit within minutes of a distinctly non-criminal ‘incident’ – that is, singing in a petrol station shop – when it can take much longer for the police to attend when someone has called 999 because an actual criminal act is happening. Plot-wise, this is well-trodden ground – consider, for instance, the recent Old Vic production of One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest, where medication was also used to subdue and control excitable characters. In that play, things take a dark turn when the standard treatments have no effect on the central character – in this one, the eccentricities collapse so effectively and efficiently that the law of unintended consequences kicks in.

Allegra. Maureen Lipman John Middleton, Elizabeth Bower, Bailey Patrick Photo Marc Brenner

Lipman is nothing short of electric, clearly enjoying her return to the touring circuit at eighty years young, with a captivating energy that the rest of the cast both feed off and contribute to. Her Allegra is someone who likes to sing out loud whatever tune is in her head at any given moment, though the script is careful enough not to take this too literally, else no conversation could be sustained for very long at all, and the audience is then left to enjoy or endure a song cycle.

Perhaps some in the audience might have preferred that, given Lipman’s infectious enthusiasm: when her carer Anna (Elizabeth Bower) suggests she might take Allegra out, this results in a singalong (lyrics are duly supplied). It’s the sort of thing that makes this show either all the more enjoyable or else all the more insufferable. It’s easy to pick holes in the plot – and how much do we really learn about Allegra apart from there are people in the vicinity, all off-stage characters, who don’t like her singing? I once told someone singing at the bus stop to ‘shut up’, and on another occasion, I waited for the next Tube because I didn’t want to be on the same one as someone who thought they were singing but were really imitating the strangulation of a cat.

All that to say I might well have been someone who might have complained about someone like Allegra – though I wouldn’t have gone to the police, if anything, for fear of being placed under arrest myself for wasting police time. A show like this, then, gave me a (proverbial!) kick up the rear end: it’s just songs. It’s totally harmless. This play with songs (directed and choreographed wonderfully by Stephen Mear but definitely not a musical), if it is to be understood at all, should be understood within the umbrella of sheer absurdism – nothing is necessarily as it seems, especially not the actual contents of the cocoa tin in Allegra’s cupboard…

The substantial distancing from reality allows the audience to fully lean into the escapism that the show provides – and seeing the show on a day of typically British early June weather made a rendering of ‘Singin’ In The Rain’ quite apt. There may not be anything particularly deep and meaningful here, but this is not a show that tries to be either of those things. And yet, it is in step with the kind of progressive thinking that says people should be allowed to be themselves. Embracing the unconventional, this is a nostalgic, joyous and delightful celebration of uniqueness. Best enjoyed by sitting back and letting proceedings wash over you: don’t read too deeply, or at all, into a plot as thin as someone who has overdosed on Ozempic.

Review by Chris Omaweng

Allegra 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?

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.

CAST
Dame Maureen Lipman DBE – Allegra
Bailey Patrick – Officer Rogers
John Middleton – Ronen
Elizabeth Bower – Anna
Helen Goldwyn – Cover Allegra & Anna
Gareth Radcliffe – Cover Ronan & Officer Rogers

CREATIVE
Writer – Peter Quilter
Director and Choreographer – Stephen Mear
Set and Costume Designer – Justin Williams
Lighting Designer – Sam Biondolillo
Sound Designer – Russell Ditchfield
Video Designer – Ben Bull for Big Tele
Wig Designer – JJ Wigs
Music Director – Livi Van Warmelo
Casting Director – Rob Kelly
Illusion Consultant – Chris Cox

ALLEGRA Richmond Theatre, 8 to 13 June 2026
Tour continues to 4 July 2026 Harold Pinter Theatre, 8 July to 8 August 2026