Why did you want to accept the part of Mrs Meers in Thoroughly Modern Millie?
It’s a bit like Aunt Eller in Oklahoma!. She wears a black wig and swans on and off being tough. It’s one of those parts that, when you watch it, you think, “oh yeah I could do that”, but actually you don’t realise the sleight of hand that’s gone on. It’s a very very technical role, which I’ve struggled with. And it’s hilarious. If I get it right, it will be very funny. It is a very hard part for me because I’m not a diva, I’m not a musical theatre person so it’s always that bit more scary. I don’t know what my legs are going to do on the night, I don’t know whether my voice is going to behave. And I think it’s quite hard for some people to accept me out of the realm of what they expect. There will always be those who say, “Maureen Lipman is miscast”, simply on the grounds that I’m a well-known personality who happens to be Jewish from north London. Do you know what I mean? You’ll always get a hint of that, which doesn’t stop me wanting to walk like a hippopotamus if that’s what the ro
