Former Brookside star Eithne Browne and musical theatre favourite Tony Timberlake are appearing in Maggie May at Leeds Playhouse until21 May. This new play by award-winning writer Frances Poet shines a light on the experience of living with dementia.
Directed by Jemima Levick, Maggie May is an extraordinary play about an ordinary Leeds family learning to cope with a life-changing diagnosis. Written with honesty, beautifully balanced with humour and music, it is, ultimately, an uplifting story of love in all its guises.
Maggie and Gordon first met in 1971 dancing to the music of Rod Stewart. Now in their sixties and still very much in love, they been finishing each other’s songs all their marriage.
But now Maggie is feeling foggy and some days the songs are all she can remember. Her son and his new girlfriend are coming to dinner and her best friend is asking questions.
The play, a co-production between Leeds Playhouse, Curve, and Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch, was originally commissioned in 2017 as part of Leeds Playhouse’s award-winning Every Third Minute Festival, an innovative seven-week festival of theatre, dementia and hope curated by people living with dementia and their supporters.
It was previously due to tour in the spring of 2020 but was halted by the pandemic. It is now at Leeds Playhouse until 21 May before transferring to Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch from 24-28 May and Curve from 7-11 June.
All performances of Maggie May at Leeds Playhouse, Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch and Curve 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 Leeds Playhouse Resident Designer Warda Abbasi to amplify the experiences of people living with dementia.
To book: -Box office: 0113 213 7700 leedsplayhouse.org.uk
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