Review: ALLEGRA at Theatre Royal

Allegra is a new comedy play by Peter Quilter that is currently on a UK tour ahead of a stint in London’s West End.

Allegra (Maureen Lipman) is in her 80s and loving life. She loves bright colours, has a wicked sense of humour and can’t keep herself from bursting into song at any given moment. The other residents of her small town don’t quite have Allegra’s same zest for life and keep reporting her for disturbing the peace.

Allegra’s brother Ronen (John Middleton) is worried about his sister’s blasé attitude toward things like eating properly and keeping a clean house, so he introduces Anna (Elizabeth Bower) to give her a hand with the more practical, day-to-day aspects of life.

Both Ronen and Anna are extremely fond of her, and she eventually even wins over Officer Rogers (Bailey Patrick), who has been sent to try and rein her in. 

One thing that is so refreshing about Quilter’s writing is to see an older character with a bit of spark about her. The play touches on dementia, and it doesn’t shy away from the subject, but it also doesn’t reduce Allegra down to a diagnosis. 

There are strong performances across the board, particularly from Maureen Lipman, who is a joy as the all-singing, all-dancing Allegra, but later breaks your heart as a more subdued version of herself after some court-mandated medication. 

Allegra is a solid piece of new writing that leaves a lot for the audience to make up their own minds about. Is Allegra the one who’s unwell or is it the people who fail to see the fun in everyday life? And if so, what exactly is her diagnosis? While there are some difficult moments, the overall feeling of the piece is joyous.

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