Dame Maureen Lipman has revealed she suffered sleepless nights when actors quit a play because of her pro-Israel views.
Two of her co-stars walked out of the West End production of Right Before I Go after refusing to promote the show due to her involvement.
Dame Maureen, 80, had considered stepping down to prevent the drama becoming a distraction to the production.
However, the Olivier award-winning actress was persuaded to stay on by the play’s director after she considered giving herself up after sleepless nights.
Gerard McCarthy, who has appeared in BBC dramas included Call the midwife and The Fall, would reprise his role in Right Before I Go when it transfers London‘s Soho Theatre.
But the non-binary actor decided to pull out after the casting of Dame Maureen, 80, was announced, saying she had publicly expressed her views on Israel And Palestine were incompatible with his own political beliefs.
Mr McCarthy, who performed in the play at the Edinburgh Fringe, said he raised his concerns privately before ultimately deciding to leave the London production.
Transgender actress Iz Hesketh subsequently followed Mr McCarthy in quitting the show due to Dame Maureen’s involvement, saying: ‘Having recently become aware of public comments made by her, I no longer feel that the next stage of production aligns with my own personal values and beliefs.’
Veteran actress Dame Maureen Lipman, 80, has revealed she had sleepless nights after actors quit the West End production of Right Before I Go over her pro-Israel views
In May, pro-Palestinian campaigners targeted performances of her comedy Allegra in Aberdeen with a poster depicting the actress with devil horns and a pitchfork.
Gerard McCarthy, who has appeared in BBC dramas such as Call the Midwife and The Fall, is set to reprise his role in Right Before I Go when it transfers to London’s Soho Theatre.
However, Dame Maureen has now revealed that the ordeal has left her struggling to sleep after she considered quitting the production but was encouraged to stay on by the director.
The 80-year-old told me The times: ‘The truth is that all this keeps me awake at night. It’s scary, horrible and unnecessary.
‘It had occurred to me that it would be easier for everyone if I go and they all stay, but I had an email from Abigail Morris, the director, who was very sympathetic and understanding.
‘So I decided to put my worries aside and move on. I might get some boos, but it will be fine.”
Right Before I Go tackles the sensitive subject of suicide, based on real suicide notes written by a range of people, including celebrities, military veterans, bullied teens and members of the LGBTQ+ community, as well as people who have survived suicide attempts.
Each performance is followed by a discussion between cast members, the audience and a local mental health professional.
Writer Stan Zimmerman conceived the nonprofit play while mourning the suicide of his friend Kevin Gill.
Dame Maureen will perform in a performance on September 10, which coincides with World Suicide Prevention Day.
Mr McCarthy was due to appear in Right Before I Go at London’s Soho Theater alongside Dame Maureen (pictured in June).
Despite the backlash she received for her involvement, the 80-year-old said she was “keen” to play a role because “young people and suicide are such an important topic”, adding that it is an “essential” topic to discuss.
A spokesperson for the production told The Times: “We understand that our cast and staff have a wide range of perspectives, including on deeply personal and difficult topics, and we respect the sincerity behind their decisions.”
They added that cast members’ political views are kept separate from artistic collaboration.
The production team has been contacted for further comment.
According to Mr Zimmerman, the show has a rotating cast and Dame Maureen would never appear in the same screening with Mr McCarthy.
Earlier this week Dame Maureen wrote an article in The Telegraph about Mr McCarthy saying: ‘I will not be bullied nor will I allow anyone to tell me what to think.
“If that affects their ability to work with me, rather than converting me to their point of view, then they’re happy.”
Mr McCarthy addressed the tragedy in an Instagram post on Friday, saying: ‘I was somewhat surprised when I woke up on Wednesday morning to find Dame Maureen had written about me in The Telegraph.
‘I was even more surprised to hear that I had apparently tried to bully her.
‘To be clear: I have never met Maureen Lipman. I’ve never spoken to her. I never contacted her. I have never asked for her to be removed from a production, nor have I ever refused to work with her. We were never supposed to perform together.
“So if I was able to bully her, I did it with remarkably little effort.
‘What I actually did was make a decision about my own participation in a performance of Right Before I Go.’
The Dame Maureen man has been one of the most prominent British Jewish voices in support of Israel since the October 7 attacks and has faced fierce criticism from pro-Palestinian activists.
She has previously spoken about receiving anti-Semitic abuse and threats of protests and cancellations, and has sometimes been forced to use private security during her theater tours.
In May, pro-Palestinian campaigners targeted performances of her comedy Allegra in Aberdeen.
Gerard McCarthy (pictured in July), known for his roles in the BBC dramas The Fall and Call The Midwife, quit a London theater show after the casting of Dame Maureen
The Aberdeen branch of the Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign distributed an image showing her wearing devil horns and holding a pitchfork, while calling on supporters to sign a petition against her appearance.
Police Scotland investigated the post but concluded it was not a crime, instead recording it as a non-crime hate incident.
Dame Maureen has previously described protests against Israel by left-wing actors as “very, very close to fascism” and labeled artists who signed open letters condemning Israeli military action “bigoted signaturists” and “bleeding heartless liberals.”
Earlier this week the Daily Mail was published revealed that Mr McCarthy then liked a series of offensive comments posted below his announcement on Instagram after he left the show.
Among them was one that read: “Lipman the Zio Witch can go in the trash.”
Another praised him as “a man of absolute principles” before warning: “Zionists will soon have nowhere to hide.”
McCarthy, a regular on Channel 4’s Hollyoaks, also liked a post which said: ‘That woman is an odious ghost. Every time you walked into her room you saved yourself an exhausting battle with your conscience.”
Another who liked McCarthy said, “I would cross the street if I saw her. Despicable fanatic’, describing Dame Maureen as ‘a terrible witch’, adding: ‘It speaks volumes about the morally bankrupt bastards behind this decision that they are willing to work with her.’
“Zio,” short for Zionist, is widely recognized by Jewish organizations as an anti-Semitic slur.
When contacted by the Daily Mail, McCarthy issued a statement saying: ‘I do not endorse anti-Semitic language or personal abuse directed at Dame Maureen Lipman, and regret that I may have done so inadvertently by liking a number of comments among the hundreds posted below my statement.
“My likes were intended as an expression of support for my decision to withdraw, rather than an expression of support for every word used in those comments.
“After the specific language was brought to my attention, I removed those likes.
“My position remains the same as in my original statement: my decision was in relation to the views expressed publicly by one person on Israel and Palestine. It was not about her Jewish identity, and I am against anti-Semitism.”
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