''Allelujah!'' is a play by British playwright

Alan Bennett Alan Bennett (born 9 May 1934) is an English actor, author, playwright and screenwriter. Over his distinguished entertainment career he has received numerous awards and honours including two BAFTA Awards, four Laurence Olivier Awards, and two ...

Characters and cast

Patients; * Mavis - Patricia England * Lucille -

Gwen Taylor Gwen Taylor (born 19 February 1939) is an English actress who has appeared in many British television programmes. She is known for her roles as Amy Pearce in the sitcom '' Duty Free'' (1984–1986); Barbara Liversidge in the sitcom ''Barbara'' ...

* Hazel -

Sue Wallace Sue Wallace is a British character actress. Early life Wallace was born in the north of England. Education Wallace studied Drama and English at the University of Birmingham. Career Wallace started her career as a teacher. Wallace went on ...

* Mary -

Julia Foster Julia Foster (born 2 August 1943) is an English stage, screen, and television actress. Life and career Foster was born in Lewes, Sussex. Her first husband was Lionel Morton, once the lead singer with the 1960s pop band The Four Pennies. She is ...

* Cora -

Cleo Sylvestre Cleopatra Mary Palmer (née Sylvestre; born 19 April 1945), known professionally as Cleo Sylvestre, is an English actress in film, stage and television. She was the first black woman ever to play a leading role at the National Theatre in Lond ...

* Mrs Maudsley - Jaqueline Clarke * Molly -

Jacqueline Chan Jacqueline "Jacqui" Chan (born 1939) is a Chinese-Trinidadian dancer, actress and singer. Early life Chan was born in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago to a Chinese mother and a Chinese-Russian father. Her parents had both migrated to British ...

* Renee - Anna Lindup * Neville -

Louis Mahoney Louis Felix Danner Mahoney (; 8 September 1938 – 28 June 2020) was a Gambian-born British actor, based in Hampstead in London. He was an anti-racist activist and long-time campaigner for racial equality within the acting profession. He repres ...

* Joe -

Jeff Rawle Jeffrey Alan Rawle (born 20 July 1951) is an English actor. He is known for portraying George Dent in the news-gathering sitcom '' Drop the Dead Donkey''. He also portrayed Silas Blissett in '' Hollyoaks'' from December 2010 until 2012. Rawle r ...

* Ambrose - Simon Williams * Arthur - Colin Haig Staff; * Salter - Chairman of the hospital - Peter Forbes * Dr Valentine -

Sacha Dhawan Sacha Dhawan (; born 1 May 1984) is a British actor from Greater Manchester. He is best known for playing Akthar in the play '' The History Boys'' (2004–2006) and its film adaptation (2006), Paul Jatri in the BBC One comedy drama series '' La ...

* Sister Gilchrist -

Deborah Findlay Deborah Findlay (born 23 December 1947) is an English actress. She joined a theatre company while studying English at the University of Leeds. Career Findlay has worked primarily on stage and appeared in numerous productions, including the origi ...

* Nurse Pinkney - Nicola Hughes * Ramesh - a junior doctor -

Manish Gandhi Manish Gandhi is an Indian theatre director and stage, film and TV actor. In 2006, he worked with the Government of Chandigarh to create a new theatre education programme for children in government schools. In 2009, he was awarded a scholarship ...

* Fletcher - a junior doctor - Gary Wood * Gerald - physiotherapist - Richie Hart Visitors; * Colin Colman - Joe's son, a management consultant - Samuel Barnett * Mrs Earnshaw - Rosie Ede * Mr Earnshaw -

Duncan Wisbey Duncan James Wisbey (born 16 December 1971) is an English actor, musician, writer and impressionist. He is often credited as simply Wisbey. Recordings and appearances From 2001, Wisbey collaborated with Jonny Trunk, founder of Trunk Records, to ...

* Andy - work experience - David Moorst * Alex - documentary director - Sam Bond * Cliff - camerman - Nadine Higgin Nurses, Healthcare Assistants, Social Workers etc. played by members of the company

Production

The play opened at the

Bridge Theatre The Bridge Theatre is a commercial theatre near Tower Bridge in London that opened in October 2017. It was developed by Nick Starr and Nicholas Hytner as the home of the London Theatre Company, which they founded following their tenancy as execu ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

on 11 July 2018, running until 29 September, directed by

Nicholas Hytner Sir Nicholas Robert Hytner (; born 7 May 1956) is an English theatre director, film director, and film producer. He was previously the Artistic Director of London's National Theatre. His major successes as director include ''Miss Saigon'', ''Th ...

, designed by

Bob Crowley Bob Crowley (born 10 June 1952) is a theatre designer (scenic and costume), and theatre director. He lives between London, New York and West Cork in the south west of Ireland. Career Born in Cork, Ireland on 10 June 1952, Bob Crowley is th ...

and choreographed by

Arlene Phillips Dame Arlene Phillips (born 22 May 1943) is an English choreographer, talent scout, television judge and presenter, theatre director, and former dancer, who has worked in many fields of entertainment. For many years, she was most noted as the c ...

. The production was captured by

National Theatre Live National Theatre Live is an initiative operated by the Royal National Theatre in London, which broadcasts live via satellite, performances of their productions (and from other theatres) to cinemas and arts centres around the world. About I grew ...

and was broadcast to cinemas worldwide on 1 November 2018.

Film

The film adaptation of the play, '' Allelujah'', will star

Judi Dench Dame Judith Olivia Dench (born 9 December 1934) is an English actress. Regarded as one of Britain's best actresses, she is noted for her versatile work in various films and television programmes encompassing several genres, as well as for her ...

Jennifer Saunders Jennifer Jane Saunders (born 6 July 1958) is an English actress, comedian, singer and screenwriter. Saunders originally found attention in the 1980s, when she became a member of The Comic Strip after graduating from the Royal Central School of ...

Russell Tovey Russell George Tovey (born 14 November 1981) is an English actor. He is best known for playing the role of werewolf George Sands in the BBC's supernatural comedy-drama '' Being Human'', Rudge in both the stage and film versions of '' The His ...

Derek Jacobi Sir Derek George Jacobi (; born 22 October 1938) is an English actor. He has appeared in various stage productions of William Shakespeare such as ''Hamlet'', ''Much Ado About Nothing'', ''Macbeth'', ''Twelfth Night'', '' The Tempest'', ''King ...

, David Bradley and

Bally Gill Bally Gill (born 28 July 1992) is a British actor. He won the 2018 Ian Charleson Award for his performance as Romeo in the Royal Shakespeare Company production of ''Romeo and Juliet''. Best known for his role as Neel Fisher in BBC drama ''Sherwood ...

. It will be directed by

Richard Eyre Sir Richard Charles Hastings Eyre (born 28 March 1943) is an English film, theatre, television and opera director. Biography Eyre was born in Barnstaple, Devon, England, the son of Richard Galfridus Hastings Giles Eyre and his wife, Minna Ma ...

, with

Heidi Thomas Heidi Thomas (born 13 August 1962) is an English screenwriter and playwright. Career After reading English at Liverpool University, Thomas gained national attention when her play, ''Shamrocks And Crocodiles'', won the John Whiting Award in ...

adapting the screenplay. It will be produced by

Pathé Pathé or Pathé Frères (, styled as PATHÉ!) is the name of various French businesses that were founded and originally run by the Pathé Brothers of France starting in 1896. In the early 1900s, Pathé became the world's largest film equipment ...

BBC Film BBC Film (formerly BBC Films) is the feature film-making arm of the BBC. It was founded on 18 June 1990, and has produced or co-produced some of the most successful British films of recent years, including '' Truly, Madly, Deeply'', '' Alan Pa ...

and

Ingenious Media Ingenious Media (styled as INGENIθUS) is a division of London-based Ingenious Capital Management Limited, also known as Ingenious. The company was founded in 1998 by Patrick McKenna. Filmography 2000s 2010s 2020s Upcoming Fut ...

and will be distributed by Pathé in France and Switzerland as a standalone distributor and in the UK via

Warner Bros. Pictures Warner Bros. Pictures is an American film production and distribution company of the Warner Bros. Pictures Group division of Warner Bros. Entertainment (both ultimately owned by Warner Bros. Discovery). The studio is the flagship producer of l ...

. The film will be released in 2022.

References

Plays by Alan Bennett 2018 plays British plays adapted into films {{2010s-play-stub