''Alison! A Rock Opera'' is a

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), charac ...

with music and lyrics by playwright Leo Butler and Dan Persad. The modern rock 'n' roll song-cycle tells the story of ordinary woman Alison who breaks up with her boyfriend Jimmy and goes on a journey of self-discovery. "Yes, breaking up is hard to do. It’s loud, it’s thrashy and the lyrics and storytelling are first class" – Aleks Sierz. The show premiered at the

Royal Court Theatre The Royal Court Theatre, at different times known as the Court Theatre, the New Chelsea Theatre, and the Belgravia Theatre, is a West End theatre#London's non-commercial theatres, non-commercial theatre in Sloane Square, London, England, opene ...

in September 2011 as part of the theatre's Rough Cuts season, with its original title (and opening song) ''A Separate Reality''. It was directed by Nick Bagnall, and featured Anna Francolini and Rhashan Stone in the cast. In September 2012, the full-length show, retitled ''Alison! A Rock Opera'', was produced at the

King's Head Theatre The King's Head Theatre, founded in 1970 by Dan Crawford, is an off-West End venue in London. The original venue was the oldest operating pub theatre in the UK. In 2024, the pub theatre, and the King's Head Theatre now operates from a purpose-b ...

in Islington, London. It was directed by Bagnall, and the cast featured Clare Cathcart in the title role. In April 2014, the show was revived at The Spread Eagle Theatre in Croydon, Greater London, and the cast featured Lucy Edge and Rhydian Persad. In 2013, the show was recorded and released as a CD and a digital download.

References

Plays by Leo Butler Rock operas 2012 musicals British musicals {{2000s-play-stub