Maureen Lipman hires security after anti-Israel campaign targets theatre tour
Actress says abuse over her support for Israel has forced extra protection at performances
Dame Maureen Lipman has revealed she has hired private security for her theatre tour after becoming the target of what she describes as antisemitic harassment linked to her support for Israel.
The actress and Jewish community figure said campaigners had sought to disrupt performances of her new stage production, Allegra, and accused politicians of failing to tackle rising antisemitism.
Writing in The Spectator, Lipman said she had been left with little choice but to employ additional protection while travelling with the show.
“I am forced by government inaction on antisemitism to hire security for the tour,” she wrote.
The 80-year-old said activists in Aberdeen had campaigned against the production because of her pro-Israel views.
“A few bigots in Aberdeen have been campaigning to get the show cancelled because of my support for Israel, which they describe as ‘extremist’ and, for good measure, ‘hateful’,” she wrote.
Lipman also highlighted online abuse directed at her, including a doctored version of the show’s promotional artwork.
“Online, they’ve circulated a version of the show’s poster which has been doctored to give me horns and a pitchfork. That dopey old trope again.”
The image became the subject of a complaint to Police Scotland and was reportedly recorded as a non-crime hate incident rather than a criminal offence.
Despite the hostility, Lipman said she remained determined to continue performing.
“Mark, my security man, protects me (at the show) and even brings me a flat white and a flapjack when I can’t exit via the stage door,” she wrote.
The actress, who has been outspoken about antisemitism since the 7 October attacks and their aftermath, suggested public attention was being directed elsewhere while hostility towards Jews continued to grow.
“Meanwhile, the kidnapped Ukrainian children remain brainwashed in Russia, their parents are scatter bombed nightly, and 35,000 Iranian kids are slaughtered, but nobody marches against these genocides. No Jews, no news,” she wrote.
“Bigots instead want to boycott a British actress in a non-political play.”
The controversy follows a campaign by the Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign, which previously backed calls for Lipman to be removed from the production because of her support for Israel.
Allegra opened in Aberdeen on 26 May and is now continuing its UK tour.
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