LipService Theatre Company

“The Laurel and Hardy of literary deconstruction” - The Guardian

Maggie Fox and Sue Ryding met as Drama students at Bristol University in a very serious Ibsen production which had the audience on the floor laughing. A tragedy for Ibsen but the launch of a very long comedy partnership. Maggie and Sue formed LipService in 1985 and have produced 22 original comedies for the stage, had series on Radios 2 and 4, plus TV appearances. They tour nationally in the UK but have also toured to Pakistan, USA, Eastern Europe and Germany. They have won many awards.

  • Manchester Theatre Award Stage Door Award for Excellence 2013

  • Manchester Evening News Award Withering Looks.

  • Critics Award for Comedy Withering Looks at the Edinburgh Festival

  • Critics Award for Comedy Knit One Murder One at the Edinburgh Festival

  • They were nominated for a Writers Guild award for their Radio 4 series LipService

“in terms of comic inventiveness they are an unstoppable force" - Time Out

As well as their work in mainstream theatre, Maggie & Sue collaborated with a number of heritage organisations on bespoke site specific performances, including the Brontë Parsonage Museum, Elizabeth Gaskell’s house, Quarry Bank Mill, the Pankhurst Centre and Jane Austen’s house.

This year the company is celebrating 40 years and is delighted to be the recipient of a National Heritage Lottery Fund award to fund an archive and exhibition to accompany the Funny Stuff tour

Past shows include...

The Picture of Doreen Gray

“British comedy gold at its best”  - The Public Review

Inspector Norse

“the sight of two moose weeping while watching Bambi will stay with me for a long time” - East Anglian Daily Times

Desperate to be Doris

“It's fair to say you haven't lived until you've witnessed Secret Love belted out by a game bunch of volunteers dressed as daffodils” - The Guardian

Withering Looks

“It’s a joy…very, very funny” - The Guardian

Very Little Women

“Pant wettingly funny”  - The Guardian

Also Jane Bond, Horror for Wimps, Very Little Women, Move Over Moriarty, Women on the Verger, King Arthur & the Knights of the Occasional Table, B-Road Movie!, Margaret III Parts Two and Three, Knit One Murder One.