The production will tour across the UK from the 12th May 2026 ahead of a West End run.
Thomas Hopkins Productions and SAMS Entertainment have announced that Dame Maureen Lipman will star in the world premiere of Peter Quilter’s latest play ‘Allegra’.
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?
Talking of the news Maureen Lipman 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’’
Further casting and creative team have yet to be announced.
With this news, Peter Quilter will have the rare distinction of four plays running across the UK in 2026: Allegra; the 20th anniversary tour of Glorious! starring Wendi Peters and Matthew James Morrison; Step By Step on UK tour with an all-star cast; and Jinkx Monsoon will star as Judy Garland in a revival of End of the Rainbow at Soho Theatre in Walthamstow.
The tour dates for the production are as follows:
Brighton
Theatre Royal
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
Monday 8 – Saturday 13 June
Windsor
Theatre Royal
Monday 15 – Saturday 20 June
Glasgow
Theatre Royal
Monday 22 – 27 June
Bath
Theatre Royal
Monday 29 June- Saturday 4 July
Further dates have yet to be confirmed.