At a small theatre, a man mixes plaster and talks to the crowd. Empty beer cans lie around him. His words are rough, but honest. The audience leans in—not just to hear a story, but to feel it. Something deeper is going on here. And at the centre of it all is a former Coronation Street actor, bringing a painful truth to light.
From the Streets to the Stage
Joe Mallalieu, who used to play Cormac Truman in Coronation Street, is currently touring a new play, RUM. It’s a one-man performance in which Joe performs the role of Danny, a builder attempting to compose a eulogy for his best mate Jase’s funeral. Jase has committed suicide. Through Danny’s words, we witness his anguish, fury, and confusion. He gets drunk, recalls the past, and attempts to disguise his emotions.
Before this play, Joe was used to being cast in roles like drug dealers or men who die from overdoses. He said it felt like working-class actors were often given only these parts.
That’s why he wrote RUM. He wanted to show something real, something that reflected where he came from. Joe’s family were plasterers. His granddad and his dad were in the trade, and he refers to himself as “plastering royalty.
Even when he did acting work, he returned to plastering. Plastering’s noise, dust, and hard men provided the inspiration for the play.
A Personal Loss of Coronation Street Star
The origin of RUM is very personal. Joe penned it after his friend Dillon died in 2021. Dillon had taken his own life. Joe admits that he finds himself thinking about their last interactions a lot, wondering if Dillon was attempting to communicate something. Creating the play served as a means for Joe to process his loss. It was a way for him to talk to others who are silently suffering the same.
Dillon was one of Joe’s tight-knit group of friends since they were young. He had a rough childhood and was fostered at the age of 14, but they remained close. He described Dillon as someone who would fight and never exhibit fear.
Dillon got into trouble with the police during lockdown and was afraid of ending up in prison. A week after they went out on the drinks together, Dillon took his own life. He was just 28. Joe explained that he did not write RUM solely for Dillon.
He wrote it for all the working-class men who feel trapped, left behind, and can’t speak. He used the building site location because it’s familiar to him, but the emotions in the play resonate with a lot of working-class men who struggle to be open.
Coronation Street Actor’s Goal: Real Reactions, Real Impact
The play was launched at the ARC Theatre using a ‘pay-what-you-can’ ticket policy, which made it simple for anyone to attend. For some in the audience, it was their first experience in a theatre. One man, who was wearing an Andy’s Man Club T-shirt after the performance, said to Joe, “We plaster over the cracks. We all wear a mask. We don’t know how to ask for help.”
Joe knew that feeling. He said it’s frightening to remove the mask, and he still wears one, even when returning to work on building sites.
Joe teamed up with Andy’s Man Club to help the play. The charity operates free support groups for men throughout the UK every Monday. Their single rule is easy: “It’s okay to talk.” The group began because so many men, particularly in working-class communities, struggle in silence.
Joe explained that the building trade has one of the highest suicide rates. He recalled hearing someone on-site say that the last man to use a harness had killed himself. The Coronation Street actor also talked about how prevalent drug use is in the trade—get paid on Friday and are broke by Sunday. He hoped the play would indicate why so many men are suffering and how it could be helped if they could talk more openly.
According to him, RUM provided something they never had before: a narrative that belonged to them. A painted man, standing in front of them, free discussing pain, loss, and attempting to look ahead. And for once, they did not see themselves as sidekicks. We have tears in our eyes too! Tune in to Soap Opera Daily for more news, stories, and updates from your favorite stars and shows.
