Former Brookside star Eithne Browne and musical theatre favourite Tony Timberlake (Chicago, Hairspray, Singin’ In The Rain, Les Miserables) lead the cast of Maggie May, which runs at Leeds Playhouse May 7-21.
This new play – not the Lionel Bart musical – by award-winning writer Frances Poet, explores the experience of living with dementia and is a co-production between Leeds, Queen's Theatre Hornchurch and The Curve in Leicester.
Directed by Jemima Levick, the play is about an ordinary family learning to cope with a life-changing diagnosis, and is ultimately an uplifting story of love. Maggie and Gordon have been together since the early 1970s and were fans of Rod Stewart (hence the title). Now in their sixties, Maggie is feeling foggy and some days the songs are all she can remember. Her son and new girlfriend are coming to dinner and her best friend is asking questions...
The play was originally commissioned by the three theatres in 2017, as part of Leeds Playhouse’s award-winning Every Third Minute Festival, a seven-week festival of theatre about dementia and hope, curated by people living with dementia, and their families and friends.
Maggie May was due to tour in the spring of 2020, but was halted by the pandemic. After Leeds it moves it to Hornchurch (May 24-28) and Leicester (June 7-11).
All performances will be dementia-friendly, with additional staff, detailed pre-show information and a quiet space. Each venue will also host a free interactive installation, The Picture Booth, designed by the Playhouse's resident designer, Warda Abbasi, to relate the experiences of people living with the condition.