Lily Allen has already told a cinema-worthy story of love’s betrayal and the heartbreak left in its wake on her new West End Girl album. Now the singer says that epic drama might leap from our ears to our eyes if plans to turn her fifth studio LP into a play take hold.
Speaking to Jimmy Fallon on Wednesday night’s (Dec. 10) Tonight Show, Allen confirmed that there are ongoing talks about bringing the album to London’s West End theater district as a play. “That’s true,” Allen said, adding “I might be” when Fallon asked if she is involved with the adaptation. “The ink is not dry — is that what they say? Something like that? But, you know, I’m definitely having some conversations with people about it. It’s very exciting,” said Allen.
Though no additional details were available on the plan at press time, it would not be Allen’s first foray onto the stage. She made her West End debut in 2021 earning good notices playing the lead role of Jenny in Matthew Dunster’s 2:22 A Ghost Story and then starred in Martin McDonagh’s The Pillowman play in 2023. Before releasing West End Girl, Allen returned to the stage this year in Dunster’s take on Henrik Ibsen’s iconic drama Hedda Gabler, re-dubbed Hedda. The singer also appeared on the big screen in 1988 in the British biographical drama Elizabeth, starring alongside Cate Blanchett, Geoffrey Rush, Joseph Fiennes and Sir John Gielgud.
Allen is gearing up for her first Saturday Night Live musical performance in nearly two decades this weekend (Dec. 13), where she will appear alongside actor Josh O’Connor (Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery). “I didn’t really understand the cultural significance of it then,” she said of her first visit to Studio 8H in 2007 when she sang two songs from her 2006 debut album, Alright, Still, noting that SNL was not available on TV in England when she was growing up. “Now with the Internet, I know what a big deal it is, and I’m scared.”
Getting down to brass tacks, Allen made sure to plug her upcoming spring 2026 tour — the real reason she said she was dropping by — saying that she intended to sit with Fallon to help sell tickets for the outing. “But it sold out today,” she said excitedly about the new 14-stop tour that this week added additional shows in Chicago, Toronto, Boston and New York.
Watch Lily Allen on The Tonight Show below.
